Running Up That Hill
by ClockwiseDoom
Summary: Easter discovers the true dynamics of Amu and Ikuto's relationship, and the true strength of her powers, and use it to their advantage. Amu x Ikuto. Amuto. Dark!Amu later.
1. Taken

**Running Up That Hill  
**

**Rating: T **(may eventually go up, we'll see) for dark themes, romance, language.

**Summary: **Easter discovers the true dynamics of Amu and Ikuto's relationship, and the true strength of her powers, and use it to their advantage. Amu x Ikuto. Amuto.

**Author's Note:** Um, yeah. ^^ I had a dream of this a few good months ago but just never took the time to write it. Well, after having several reccuring dreams of it, like in a series of chapters, I just had to quench my thirst to write and did.. lol. xD Although I have another Amuto fic in the works right now, **"30 Minutes",** that I really need to update (immediately!) on, I've been... shall we say, having a bump in the road with it. Usually, they're easy for me to go over, but with this particular fic, not knowing much of the Ikuto arc when I began writing it, this bump not only is preveting me from crossing it, but also throwing me two steps back, and I just want to start over - completely. So though I usually discourage myself from writing one multi-chaptered fic (Because God knows I'm horrible with them, lol), I'm now doing two. Though this one will be more consistent because almost every night I dream of something new for this, and when a fic demands to be written, you can't question it, lol. So here we go! Please read and review! Hehe, the song **"Running Up That Hill"** by **Placebo** has definitely helped me out with this fic.

**NOTE: **

This takes place just BEFORE the Ikuto arc; like around chapter 27/Episode 64 of the manga/anime. So YES, THIS CONTAINS SPOILERS for those of you who are outdated with either. Some bits of this will follow the anime, some the manga, though I WILL be including the manga plot slightly as well. Because the Ikuto arc pwns. Ha ha ha. xD And... this fic will have Dark!Amu later on. Maybe around chapter 5 or 6.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Shugo Chara. The lovely duo of Peach-Pit does! ^^

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_"And if I only could, make a deal with God.._

_I'd get him to swap our places.. _

_Be running up that road. Be running up that hill. _

_Be running up that building. _

_If I only could... _

_Come on, baby, come on, come on, darling.. _

_Let me steal this moment from you now._

_Come on, angel! Come on, come on, darling. _

_Let's exchange the experienece..."_

**"Chapter 1: Taken"**

Tsukiyomi Ikuto sighed as he walked up the stairs of Easter. How he hated this place. Everything about it. He hated having to work in his father's stead, hated having his family name sneered upon by his cruel, sadistic step-father, Kazoumi Hoshina, hated how the man treated him as nothing more than sin produced from an already forbidden relationship between that of his mother and father. When his father left his family behind, he and his younger sister had then become the target for Easter, as the only official heirs, though luckily he and Utau had been too young, then; Both of them had been sent to work for the company for their father breaking the contract. How powerful, Easter was. Anyone who rose against it would easily fall, no matter how strong their will to fight was. Easter manipulated and destroyed lives. With a sinister smile.

"Ikuto, nya?"

Ikuto stopped on the second-to-last stair before the door and looked at his tiny cat chara, Yoru, who was floating in the air in front of him. "What is it?"

The chara blinked. "You okay, nya? You were spacing out."

"Oh.. it's nothing. Just thinking," The teen answered. He walked the last step and pulled the handle, the door allowing him inside to this despicable place. Putting on a smooth marble-like expression, Ikuto walked casually through the halls, ignoring his many co-workers staring at him.

"Hey, Ikuto-kun!"

His eyes narrowed in annoyance, Ikuto turned around to be greeted by one of his step-father's lackeys, the idiotic scientist who was a complete incompetent in every sense of the word. "You dad told me to tell you when you arrived that he has some work for you, and to go up and see him immediately." He leaned forward and wrapped his arms around Ikuto's shoulders, who refrained from tossing the stupid ass off of him and instead contented himself with violent thoughts such as kicking the guy out the window. "Do your best for the Boss, Ikuto-kun!" The happy giggly laugh only seemed to aggravate Ikuto more.

"Sure," He responded curtly, as the man finally let go of him and skipped away from him. "That idiot.."

"Who does that guy think he is, nya?!" The little chara now resembled a ball of angry fluff, his little tail standing on end. "I should've scratched his face for touching you like that, nya!"

Ikuto smirked in amusement at the mental image and walked in the direction of the elevator. He leaned against it leisurely as he waited for it to reach the 79th floor. Once he exited, he took a breath before opening Kazoumi's office door. "You wanted to see me?"

The man was obviously waiting for him, not seated in his chair and looking at paper work, but standing in front of the desk. His expression was as cold as his eyes. "You kept me waiting, Ikuto."

Ikuto said nothing; he truly was not sorry for it.

Kazoumi had not expected a reply and turned an unpleasant smirk at him. "I have a job for you."

"What?" Ikuto replied indifferently. What could it possibly be? Cleaning up more junk? Searching for the Embryo? Nothing he'd never done before. Just the usual, boring work. So then, why was Kazoumi's expression almost..._ mocking_, as if taking pleasure out of something? It was probably just the idea of knowing he'd taken Ikuto's precious violin from him to make him obey orders, to which Ikuto had most certainly not forgotten; he'd not let his violin go neglected. He'd take it back.

"I have quite a... treasured _something_ of yours that I want you to lock up."

Ha! His violin? Was Kazoumi as stupid as he looked? Didn't he realize Ikuto's sneakiness, that he'd never lock it up for Easter to do with they pleased with, that he'd steal it back before letting they could get their filthy hands on it? Still, if Kazoumi was this stupid, he'd play along; He made a mental note to himself that once he had it, to sneak out through the vents as quickly as possible. It wouldn't do him good to get caught. "Fine, what is it?" He drawled in a bored tone, only pretending to act as if he didn't know what it was.

Kazomi chuckled darkly, and walked around to behind his desk and bent over to pick something up. Ikuto waited, just to lay his eyes on his familiar violin case, but that hadn't been what Kazoumi had lifted up at all; instead, there was a small groan, and Kazoumi's hands were clenched around a handful of short, pink hair. Ikuto's eyes widened. _No... _

Amu's eyebrows were creased with pain, and she slowly opened her honey-colored eyes to meet Ikuto's distant ones. "I.. Ikuto."

"Amu.." He whispered breathlessly. He felt frozen stock still, as if someone held him in that position. The shock of seeing Amu here in Easter, and Kazoumi's disgusting hands on her, quickly turned to rage. "Let her go," He snarled. "She has done nothing to you."

Kazoumi's expression became amused. "Who are you to order me, Tsukiyomi Ikuto? Am _I _not the one to order _you_?"

"_I said_," His voice trembled with hatred, reinforcing the threat behind it. "Let. Her. Go."

Kazoumi gave a mirthless laugh, tightening his grip on the small girl who yelped slightly as the pain on the top of her head increased. "You really aren't in the position to disobey me, Ikuto, nor to threaten me. You forget you have no solid ground here in Easter. Your opinions are worthless, as well as your threats. You will do as I tell you, and I order you to lock her up."

"No," Ikuto said automatically. "I refuse."

Now Kazoumi's smirk disappeared. "Don't make me hurt you, Ikuto. I am still legally your father. You are still a child. I thought taking your violin from you was enough, but apparently it has no effect on you. You need hardcore discipline, boy. Physical."

Ikuto took a millimeter of a step back. "You won't touch me."

"You insolent pest," Kazoumi snarled. "I can do whatever I please to you. You have no one to help you anymore. Your future lies in my hands, and your mother, your sister, and even you are too powerless to do anything about it. Wake up to your true destiny, boy, and do as I tell you. Or I won't hesitate to knock that rebellious attitude out of you."

Ikuto remained stoic. "If you don't let her go, I'll make you, old man. Your threats are nothing on me."

Before he knew it, however, Ikuto had suddenly been knocked across the small room, and slammed hard into the wall, cringing, but shaking with anger as he felt blood ooze from his split lip. Before he could react - _jump forward and knock him down, then take Amu from him!_ His mind urged - several guards came bursting through the door, and Ikuto looked hurriedly at his step father to see him pressing the _"Emergency"_ button. "You..."

Kazoumi ignored him and addressed the guards. "Hold him -" He jerked his head at Ikuto, "down. I'll call for more of you take the girl."

"No!" Ikuto shouted, and rapidly went to charge at the man but was pinned down hard to the floor by all the guards and could not move a limb before he could take so much as a step forward. "I'm warning you, old man! You better not hurt her! You leave Amu alone and let her go! She's done nothing!"

A grunt, followed by a sharp kick to the face; blood tricked down his cut cheek. Kazoumi turned cold eyes upon him. "You'd better shut your mouth, you little rotten spawn of a devil. You truly are your father's son, the same worthless plague." He kicked his step-son in the face again, and Ikuto's eyes watered as the rage coursed through his entire body.

"I don't care how powerful you think you are," Ikuto seethed. "You will not hurt her."

"Shut him up," Kazoumi ordered. A guard smashed his face against the carpet, holding his head down to muffle him. Still, he resisted. He would not let them treat him like some helpless kid!

"LET THE FUCK GO OF ME!" He used all of his body strength, to try and throw them off of him, but he was pinned down too securely. He heard the door open and saw five more security enter, and who knew how many more Kazoumi would call. The dark-haired boy's eyes twitched. "I swear... you hurt her... and I'll kill you."

Kazoumi looked unimpressed and swiftly tossed Amu, who Ikuto now saw had her hands tied behind her back, onto the carpet in front of him. "Lock her up somewhere where this brat can't get to her. Make sure her charas are locked up tight inside their eggs, with no means of escape, and that she's unable to as well. Teach her a little lesson while you're at it. I'll be down to join you shortly."

The men bowed and two of them reached down and seized Amu by the scruff of her neck, lifting the girl painfully to her feet. She gave a cry of pain as they began to drag her hardly out the door. "I-Ikuto!" Her voice was desperate, a scream.

"AMU!" He tried again; Adrenaline pumped through his system and he gave a loud snarl in the form of a hissing cat and without knowing how he did it, tossed the men off of him. He had reached the doorway before he was tossed to the ground again, falling face first onto the hard floor of the hallway, where he could still see the men in black suits taking the crying and screaming pink-haired girl down the long hallway and out of sight. "_Amu_!" His voice was loud and vibrating off the long hallway walls. Fear overwhelmed him for the first time in years. Amu was...

Kazoumi's voice was a snicker as spoke. "Now that that kid's taken care of, lock him up securely as well. I'll not have some meddlesome Black Cat ruin my plans. Even if he's my own step-son."

A fist came down hard on his head, sharp and painful, and Tsukiyomi Ikuto gave a loud grunt of pain as everything went black.

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**(1): The 79th Floor: LOL, I honestly think there's more than that, but w/e xDD**


	2. Hidden

**Author's Note: **I'll be changing the title of the story to **"Running Up That Hill"** :D I was listening to the song again all day yesterday and really love it. It really fits my fic. O_O So yeah, after this chapter it has been renamed.

**"Chapter 2: Hidden" **

Ikuto's eyes opened slowly, blurring as he slowly regained consciousness and meeting darkness. For a moment, he wondered if his eyes _were_ open, but then realized he was in a dark room, lying on cold concrete. He raised his head slightly, when his head gave a sharp throb, and he groaned, instinctively raising a hand to it - but found that he couldn't. Blinking in surprise, he felt his arms being held in place behind his back by what felt like a tight, thick rope. No way... they bound him? He struggled to remember what had happened, but wasn't having much luck, his head was pounding painfully. He blinked quickly, trying to clear his foggy head. He'd gone to Kazoumi's office as ordered, and then...

"No.." His eyes widened as he recalled Amu's fearful face, her terrified pleas for help. Easter had taken her... and she was now hidden... who knows where. The teen looked around in the darkness. First things first, he had to find a way out of here. Where was Yoru, anyway?

"Yoru?" He called out.

"Ikuto? You awake, nya? You okay?"

"I'm fine," Ikuto answered immediately. "Where are you?"

"Those jerks trapped me in my egg, nya! I can't get out!" The small chara's voice was panicked. "What do we do, Ikuto?"

Ikuto finally noticed Yoru's egg lying in the middle of the room. Luckily his legs were free, but his body was too sore and beaten up to move. This position he was in only made it worse. He swallowed saliva. "First... we need to get out of here. Then we have to find Amu and get her safely away. I don't know if we can take her home, and she definitely can't go to my place. Maybe the Kiddy King or one of her Guardian friends or someone can hide her, at least for awhile. Easter won't let up so easily.."

"Got that, nya."

Ikuto examined the room more thoroughly. "I see a door a few feet from me, but I won't be able to grab the knob since my hands are tied, and they most likely have it locked tight. We'll need to find an alternate route out of here, somewhere not nearly as exposable as a door." He looked up at the ceiling. "Wait. I see a vent at the top of the wall beside me. If we chara change, we can go through the building and get to Amu."

"But we can't chara-change, nya!"

"I have an idea," Ikuto smiled slightly. "Roll your egg forward, then to the right. All I need is my fingers to pry your egg open. Then you can untie me and we can get out."

"Good idea, Ikuto!" Yoru chirped, and obeyed. He reached the edge of Ikuto's shoe before stopping. "Your shoe's in the way, nya!"

He chuckled. "Roll around it. Just a little more back and I can reach you. Unfortunately, my hands are tied _behind_ me."

"Is that by your butt? Because if -- "

Ikuto sighed impatiently. "Just do it."

"Okay, just don't fart on me, nya!"

Ikuto rolled his eyes. "As if I would do something like that, Yoru.."

"F-fine."

He felt the cold egg against the tips of his fingers, and groaned as he lifted his head so he could see it. He began trying to pry the egg open, but it was hard trying to open something when his body was lying at a strange angle and his fingers were working backwards. He grunted, his hands growing clammy and sweaty from his effort. Then his fingers slid inside, and he pulled the egg apart with as much strength as he could muster. The little cat grinned as he was freed, and immediately began untying Ikuto. Once the ropes were completely off, Ikuto used his hands to get into a sitting position and affectionately patted Yoru's head. "Thanks, Yoru."

"N-no problem, nya." The little cat blushed, and then came up to Ikuto's face, pawing gently at it, and began licking his owner's wounds. Ikuto closed his eyes softly at the relief it brought.

"You really take such good care of me, Yoru."

He opened his eyes again as the chara stopped, and gently cupped him into his hand and placed him on his shoulder while staggering to his feet. "All right. If those idiots think just locking me up is going to stop me from saving Amu, they really are stupid. Just like if father thinks I'm going to let him keep my violin, he's got another thing coming."

"That's right, nya! Chara change!"

The cat ears and tail popped out, and Ikuto's cat-like speed and agility refurbished and in a swift movement, he had torn off the shaft covering the vent and darted inside.

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Her face was bruised and dirty, her arms and legs scratched and bloody. She lung limply from the chains binding her in shackles to the high wall, her head hung low. She struggled to keep her eyes open. Her body was aching, and the wounds they'd inflicted as soon as they brought her in still lingered on her skin. She didn't know what time it was - had hours passed? Days? or merely minutes? - and wondered if her mother and father had called the police by now. She couldn't call them or anyone else to tell them what was going on; they'd confiscated her cell phone. She had no other means to reaching somebody. Tears threatened to well in her eyes, but she refused to let them spill. She'd done enough begging and crying to the vile assholes who'd tortured her.

She felt as if she were trapped in an unwakeable nightmare; She was in the hands of the enemy, and who knew what else they would do to her to make her talk, or give information on the Guardians. Hell, they might not want information at all. Had she really been that much of an obstacle to them, to have them target her like a prey? She was terrified. If they didn't want information, what did they want? Her lock? Her charas? To hurt and punish her? Kill her...?

That last thought made her heart pound in her throat.

She was still young... a young girl. And her life could be ended just for something so simple as searching for the Embryo. Was Easter that powerful, to destroy those all around them should they stand in their way? And Ikuto... Ikuto had gotten hurt trying to save her. Where was he now..? Was he all right? Would he somehow manage to overcome them and save her? One thing she knew for sure; she couldn't depend entirely on Ikuto. If something happened to him where he couldn't reach her... why give herself false hope? She had to depend on herself and her strength in order to make it out of this alive. Although her charas had been snatched from her, as well as the lock, she still had one thing: Her will. She believed in herself and in her own radiance, and if those bastards wanted to try and break her... she'd stand strong until the end, even if she was afraid, because she expected nothing less of herself. No more begging and crying, letting them see her weakness and how breakable she was; She was still the Cool N' Spicy Hinamori Amu, and it was time to give them a full dose of some of that spice.

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"Is the girl still unconscious?"

Ikuto stopped in the small space, listening carefully. Kazoumi was speaking to three guards in his office.

"The last time we checked, which was around twenty minutes ago, she was."

"Hmph. See to it that she awakens. We wouldn't want to accidentally kill her, would we?" His chuckle was filled with unmerciful venom.

Ikuto hissed lowly in the vent. _That asshole..._

"O-of course not," One of the guards spoke. "We'll check on her immediately."

"If she is, make sure she's coherent and can answer questions. A confused little girl would do us no good. Once you check on her, all three of you are to check on the boy; he most surely is awake by now, and I want you to knock him back out so he stays out of our way while we question her."

_Good luck with that,_ Ikuto thought sarcastically.

"Yes, Boss." The men nodded their head and exited. Ikuto quickly moved to follow the sound of their footsteps, but could have sworn he saw Kazoumi's eyes drift up to where Ikuto was hiding, as if he knew he was right there.

He stayed silent as he moved as quick as a cat through the vent, his ears strained as he kept track of the men's footsteps. He couldn't afford to lose them for even a single second or he would lose the course to take him to Amu. He heard the _ding! _of the elevator and 'tcched'; of course they wouldn't keep her just one floor higher than they'd kept him. She had to be on one of the lowest levels, but he had no way of figuring out what floor they were going to inside this vent!

Frustrated and frantic, the boy reached the end of the vent of the hallway and cursed his luck; there was no way for him to go down to the lower levels, and the elevator was making it's way down already...

Pushing the vent door completely off it's hinges, Ikuto hurriedly sped to the staircase; it was a long shot, but he had to make it to Amu. He could not afford for her to stay any longer here, or for himself to get caught again. But even though he was now speeding down the stairs at break-neck speed, he still had no idea where the guards had gone!

"Dammit!" He hissed. He would have to take a wild guess, and even then he could be wrong; he could get caught easily. His mind raced; where was the most predictable place to hide a captive in a high corporation? One would usually think the highest floor, as it's farthest from an exit, but then again the Easter employees besides him and Utau when she'd been here were all incompetent. He halted suddenly when he heard a voice outside the door just paces from where he'd stopped. It was Tsukumo, the annoying idiot scientist, and he seemed to be talking to someone.

"So you got the girl with the lock?"

Ikuto listened more closely.

"Yeah, Boss wanted her for some reason he didn't explain to us. She's down in basement now."

Ikuto could almost jump for joy. These people were complete idiots! Darting for the stairs again, he sighed in utter relief. "Their incompetence sure does help me out. I'll have to 'thank' them one day." He reached the last staircase pretty quickly, and swallowed before attempting the knob; He was nearly surprised to see it was locked pretty good, with how stupid these workers could be. But then, they had locked his door, too. "Or that I know of," He mumbled. "I didn't try it.."

With a swift, solid kick he kicked the door open, and immediately his eyes rested on a pale face as Amu's head snapped up in fright, before her golden-eyes softened. "I-Ikuto!"

"Shh," Ikuto hushed her, running forward to the startled girl. She'd obviously just woken from being unconscious or had conked back out. "I'm here now, I'm going to get you out of here."

He began trying to unhinge the chains from the wall so he could free her, and Amu could only stare at him with those honey-colored eyes. "Y-you... really came."

"So you _were_ hoping?" He teased lightly. Amu blushed, but since her skin was so pale, it was barely a tinge. "I have no idea where to take you... somewhere, and I'll have to come back for your charas. Do you know where they hid them?"

"N-no," Amu's eyes watered slightly. "They just snatched those three and the Humpty Lock before locking me up in here. What do they want..?"

Ikuto's eyes softened at her. The poor girl... "I don't know, but I won't let them do whatever it is they want to you. They may have me, but they won't have you." He freed the short, pink-haired girl from her bounds and carefully scooped her small, weak frame into his arms. "I need to find a way we can escape undete -"

"IKUTO, LOOK OUT!" Amu's eyes went wide with terror and a blow came so fast to Ikuto's right shoulder he cried out, collapsing to his knees and dropping Amu. A hand pulled at his back collar, choking him, another was pulling on his hair. Just from the vice-like grip, he knew it was his step father.

"So you thought your little adventure inside my vents could go undetected, did you? That you could get to her without me knowing, did you?"

He was thrown onto his back, his character change being expelled. He glared up at the man with extreme loathing. "You bastard," He hissed.

A kick to his stomach made him double over, giving a hard cough from the blow. His shoulder felt as if it were on fire, and it was only now that he saw, on his shoulder, a needle had been injected. What ever it was inside it was making his body grow weak fast, and unconsciousness was threatening to overcome him. As the liquid spread like wild fire through his system, he felt pain he'd never experienced in his life. His head spun with dizziness, the room darkened, and the last thing he heard before he passed out yet again was Amu's scream of fright and a sinister laughter.

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**Poor Ikuto. :( He's just getting the short end of the stick, isn't he? But then, so is poor Amu-chan. O: Evil step dad needs to die a slow and painful death. (Anger!) Yeah, I'm not violent at all. ^^ Lol, I'm just spouting this fic out like crazy. xDD Am already writing the third chap. :D**


	3. Escape

**Author's Note:** I'd like to thank everyone whose reviewed so far! ^^ I'm glad I'm keeping people interested, and hope to throughout the coarse of the story; because while it may be slightly original, I'm also going to pull a plot no one's done yet. ;D So, thanks to:

TsukiyomiEmoGirl

sierraphantom

Hime Cullen Tsukiyomi

Suuz112

FaireChiel

Crystal Penn

Thanks again guys! ^^

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**"Chapter 3: Escape"**

His eyes snapped open, meeting darkness yet again. "Ugh.." His shoulder was killing him. His arms were strung above him in shackles. He sighed. He'd always been chained to the wall when it came to Easter, but this was ridiculous. "Yoru...?" He called. No response. This surprised him. Was his chara sleeping? "Yoru!" He tried again. Nothing again. Looking around the room, he couldn't see any sign of the familiar black and white egg or the small blue chara. Gritting his teeth, Ikuto bit back a snarl. So his step father had separated him from Yoru now, too, huh?

"I-Ikuto-san...?"

Ikuto looked to his left to see a shelf and on it, were three small, multi-colored eggs. "You're... Amu's charas!"

Suu, the chara that had spoken, wobbled her egg at the sound of his voice. "It is you! But why are you here, Ikuto-san, desu?"

"Because I tried to free Amu," Ikuto told her. "Are the other two awake?"

"Miki? Ran?" Suu called sweetly. "You two awake, desu?"

The blue egg suddenly wobbled lightly. "Now I am. Was that Ikuto's voice I just heard?"

"Yeah." Ikuto confirmed.

"Ikuto!" Ran cheered, the egg beginning to bounce.

Ikuto sweatdropped. "Careful, you're nearing the edge of the shelf.."

"Ah! Sorry!" He could tell just from her voice that the pink little chara was blushing.

Miki spoke again. "Do you know where they're keeping Amu-chan? We haven't seen her since she was captured..."

"Yeah.. she's in the basement apparently. Though..." He looked around, "this looks the same room she had been in... they probably changed her position..."

Suu's voice was sad. "We have to find Amu-chan...."

"We will," Ikuto assured. "Though I don't think there's any way at all for me to get out of these damn things.."

There was silence for a moment before Ran spoke. "If only you weren't tied up, you could've used Amu-chan's cell."

"Her cell?" Ikuto repeated. "It's here?"

"Right next to my egg, desu," Suu replied cheerfully. "But they put sealing tape over us, so we wouldn't be able to get out to help you, Ikuto-san... gomen..."

Ikuto bit his lip. "It's okay. We'll just have to think of something.." His mind raced. Her phone was not even two feet from him. If only they'd just bound him with rope again, he could've gotten to it! That would've been enough to at least call someone to bust Amu out. He didn't care if he ever got free; Amu... Amu was the one who needed freedom the most right now. Wait...

"That's it..." Ikuto whispered. "Guys... knock the cell phone off."

"What?!" Ran shrieked. "It'll break!"

"No, it won't. Because I'm putting my leg there to catch it. Then when I have it... I don't know if it'll work but my feet are unfortunately all I have to use right now. I can call Utau, since she knows all the rooms here, and she can bust Amu out and then come for you guys. That'll be enough."

"But what about you, desu?" Suu asked. "You can't just stay like that..."

Ikuto shook his head although the charas couldn't see. "I'll be fine. I can handle myself. What matters is getting Amu out safely and you girls as well."

"We can't let you just stay here!" Miki piped. "You're helping us save Amu-chan, and we're definitely not going to just forget that without returning the favor, whether you like it or not."

Ikuto glanced at the blue egg. "Stubborn just like Amu, aren't you? You three are so annoying." But even as he said it, he was still smiling fondly at them; they were still Amu's charas, and they were rather cute, having the same qualities as the girl.

"Wait till Dia hatches again, then you'll have to deal with her, too."

He chuckled lightly. "I know."

Silence for a moment; "K, we'll do it." Miki agreed. "Tell us when you're ready, Ikuto."

"Already one step ahead of ya," Ikuto smirked, his legs already lined up to the edge of the shelf. "Push it." Suu's egg knocked against it, and the pink phone came landing at the lower part of Ikuto's shoes, but not crashing to the floor. Sighing in relief, he lightly turned his foot over and allowed the phone to gently fall against the concrete, and used the edge of his shoe to open it. He pressed carefully onto the buttons so he wouldn't make a mistake and hit Utau's number along with the speaker phone. He heard her pick up almost immediately.

"What do you want, Amu?" Came the annoyed voice of his sister. "I have no time to play today."

Ikuto could almost laugh. "Utau, it's me."

"..... I-Ikuto? Why do you have Amu's phone?" There was mingled shock, but also a slight tone of suspicion. He sighed. She was still the same as ever.

"Listen, Utau. Easter kidnapped Amu and has her here at Easter. They took her phone, her lock and the charas, but they're all here with me. Father got pissed that I intervened so he's got me locked up in the basement. I need you to come over here... ask to see me or something, then look for Am --"

"You too!" Miki shouted loudly. "Utau will save you first, then we can all save Amu, got it?"

Ikuto glared but corrected himself " -- Fine. Come down to the basement and get me out of these damn shackles so I can get Amu. Be sure to hide her things as well as the charas."

He heard the three girls give squeals of approval. "Thanks, Ikuto-san, desu!"

"Got it." Came Utau's immediate response. "I'll come right now."

Ikuto closed his eyes; Utau was now free from Easter... and now, he'd had to call her and risk her getting caught by them as well... but really, who else could he have called? Surely not the police, nor the Guardians; they would only get themselves caught and plus they didn't know their way around Easter.. "Utau..? Be careful... I hate having to risk your life again..."

"Ikuto." Utau's voice was sharp. "You've always been there for me. And though I failed getting the Embryo for you, I won't let Easter or Father treat you like this. Or Amu. She's important to you, so..." He could tell Utau was blushing on the other end, "She's.. an important person to me, too. I won't let them hurt either of you. Hold tight. I'll get Sanjou-san to drop me off there. See you then."

The phone call ended with a click. Ikuto smiled slightly. "That Utau..."

"She and Amu-chan are so similar," Miki said softly. "They both want to protect the ones they love. But, both of them are lucky to have you, too, Ikuto."

Ikuto went slightly red at Miki's compliment, but said nothing. Although he loved Amu so much... she still had her eyes and heart for that Kiddy King, Tadase. He doubted that would ever change. They were enemies, often times acquaintances, however, but though he told himself Amu would never do the same for him if the situation were reversed, he still somehow hoped she would. That she would save him... as he would save her.

He waited, in silence; he didn't know how long it had been since he'd called her, but he knew Utau would be here soon. Suddenly he heard the sound of a key being put into the door's lock, and his heart pounded slightly, hoping Utau hadn't been caught too -- when the girl stood in the open doorway, and was holding a large pin she used to pick the lock. "Ikuto!" She breathed, but Ikuto cut across her with a hurried "shhh!"; Utau obeyed, and he listened for any sound of anyone else's footsteps, just to be safe. After a moment of hearing nothing but silence save for their own breathing, he looked at her."Okay," He nodded, and Utau ran in quickly, using the pick to undo his bonds.

"How dare they.." Utau hissed. "I hated making small-talk with them. Sanjou hated it even more, but she went up with Nikaidou to distract them."

"Wha, Nikaidou's here, too?" Ikuto was taken aback. "Why's he with you guys, anyway?"

Utau sighed. "He and Sanjou-san were having dinner at the hotel as a date."

Ikuto snickered. "They're quite the dysfunctional couple."

"Very," Utau agreed, undoing the last shackle and letting it fall to the concrete with a sharp clutter. Just then, they heard a pair of footsteps. Both sibling's eyes widening, Ikuto motioned for Utau to close the door, but then someone's foot stopped it, and a voice shouted, "Hey! Calm down, it's me!"

Utau opened the door to see Yukari panting out of breath and glaring. "_Really_! You nearly slammed the door on my foot!"

"Sorry, Sanjou-san," Utau apologized, breathing a sigh of relief. Nikaidou came up behind Yukari seconds later.

"What's with that?! Taking off without me -- oh, hi, Ikuto-kun!" He greeted, waving a hand slightly. Ikuto simply nodded back at him. The last time he'd seen Nikaidou was that last battle in which he'd protected Amu from him. How different the man was now.

Utau walked over to the shelf and grabbed Amu's three eggs safely into her arms, then bent down and picked up the pink cell phone and placed it into her pants pocket and handed the Humpty Lock to Ikuto. "I think it's only fitting for you to have this right now.." She blushed slightly as she handed to him. "Amu needs it, after all. Once she's rescued, we can give her phone and charas back."

Ikuto took it from Utau and nodded.

"Anyway," Yukari spoke, "We'd all better run for it, we need to get Ikuto out of --"

"No." Ikuto replied curtly. "I simply asked for Utau to free me so I could get to Amu. I'm not leaving here without Amu."

Nikaidou looked confused. "But, Ikuto-kun, we need time to plan a rescue mission. The four of us against hundreds of Easter guards including the director? We'd all be captured, then Himamori-san will have no chance at all of getting rescued. Let's wait a day or two, let us get in touch with the Guardians --"

"Amu doesn't have days!" Ikuto snapped. "Don't you realize they could_ kill_ her in two days?!"

Yukari looked at him with soft eyes. "We know that, but we at least have to have a plan before attempting a rescue mission. We can't just go prowling through Easter right now. The director was already suspicious. Let us just plan for now, Ikuto. We're not abandoning her. Not after what she did for all of us."

Ikuto remained silent, fuming. These people...

"Ikuto.."

He reluctantly looked at Utau, whose eyes were sad, but comforting. "I know how much you care about Amu. But if she had none of us available to help her, what would she do? She's as stubborn as me, so she'll pull through. They wouldn't dare mess with her Cool N' Spiciness. She's strong."

"You didn't see her when they dragged her away..." Ikuto whispered hoarsely. "She was terrified, as she should be. She's still a child, Utau..."

"I know." Utau closed her eyes for a moment. "We know that better than anyone, as children whose lives have been plagued with fear. You more than me, but.. I understand how she would feel. But I know Amu; she won't at least fight to protect herself. Her will is just too strong. And these guys are going to see that it takes a lot to break Amu." She took a breath, and opened her eyes with a defiant look. "For now, Nikaidou-san and Sanjou-san are right; we have to go. Plan. We'll get nowhere without a plan."

Under his sister's gaze, Ikuto sighed. Of course they were right, but he felt as though he had betrayed the pink-haired girl. Unable to speak, he simply just gave a quick nod, and as a group, they hurried down the hall and out the exit to the parking lot. Once they were all in the car and it began to drive off, Ikuto couldn't help but look up at the massive building with it's many lights flicked on, wondering in which room Amu could be. "I'm... I'm so sorry, Amu..." He shielded his face behind his hair, and both Yukari's and Nikaidou's eyes softened sadly in the front of the car while Utau stared sadly out the window beside her at the star-filled night sky.

______________________________________

"Boss?"

Kazoumi looked up, annoyed at his security for disturbing him at this hour. "What, can't you see that I'm working --"

"We understand, sir, but we went down to check on your step son and found the door wide open and he was gone, along with all of the girls' possessions. Obviously, someone freed him." One stated nervously.

Kazoumi's eyebrows narrowed furiously. "That Hoshina Utau brat," He choked out. "Of course. She'd always been such a loyal dog to her precious brother. Of course, though, Ikuto's an even more loyal dog - ha, or _cat _to us. He thinks that just because his sister is out of here, he'd no longer have to obey me and became rebellious. He forgets, however, that his last name is Tsukiyomi and if he wants to blame, to blame it on his family name. He may have escaped, but there's one - or two little things that assures me he will come back for."

"The girl, and the violin?" Another guard spoke.

"They're chaining him more securely to me than those bounds on his wrists did. He'll be back. And when he does return, I'll handle him."

"A-are you going to kill him, sir?" Asked the first. Kazoumi flashed a smirk at him.

"Of course not. I got a better plan for him. Don't forget we still need him, and I need him alive. Because he has something I want."

"W-what could that be, sir?"

A dark chuckle. "Ikuto has the matching Dumpty key to that girl's Humpty lock. Think about it; Humpty Dumpty. Put together, they're a pair. Surely they have some kind of power? The power to allow them to transform..." His smirk widened. "If we have that power in our possession, along with Ikuto and the girl who lures out the Embryo, what do you think would happen?"

"Uh... we'd have a definite hold of the Embryo?"

"That, and the Guardian's precious little Joker and my wretched step son. The power also lives within them. Kill them, and we'll lose it whether we have the key and lock or not. So, instead, I think I'm going to get own hold over them as well. If that little injection I inserted into Ikuto is working right, that boy will no longer be able to restrain me - or the darkness. And the girl... will be simple as well."

"If you don't mind me asking," the third spoke with a confused look on his face, "What exactly did you inject into him?"

A sinister laugh. "X-egg energy, of course."

The three men's faces paled. Kazoumi laughed again and continued.

"Infused into the human body in such a way, the darkness will take him over or kill him; You might ask, "Why take such a risk if you want him alive"? Well, it's simple. Ikuto will be holding his last breath when I will hold the vaccine to save him. I want to hear him beg, plead, and when I do, the darkness will break him, turning him into a mindless drone; When Ikuto soon comes back for the girl and that violin, both of them will be in my clutches, and I will make Ikuto watch as I inject that same little needle into his precious Hinamori Amu. That will break him beyond repair.. ha ha ha.." He looked out the window, the broad smirk still stretched across his face. "So I'll wait for you, Ikuto."

The men behind him swallowed and exited the room before their Boss could notice.

"I'll wait."

_____________________________

**Wow. I know, this happened in the manga. However, Ikuto did not have the energy directly infused into his blood stream; it was via the violin. This way is much more dangerous and complicated, don't you think? 8D Ohh, Ikkun; I love you, but I still love to torture you for some reason. O: I'm sadistic. Nuuuuu. T__T And Amu... poor girl. But it's the plot, so no time regreting, right? xD Hope you enjoyed!**


	4. Promise

**Author's Note:**

Sorry this is so late. Had to go to the hospital since I was sick and could barely breathe. Turns out I had both cases of Bronchitis along with an infection that went to my throat so I've been given medicine. The last two days I've been doing nothing but sleep trying to catch up on the 3 + weeks of sleep I've missed from this damn cough. I feel very much refreshed now though. ^^ So here's chapter 4! This one kind of deals with the sibling relationship between Utau/Ikuto, and we get to see Amu. : D. Thanks so much to the following reviewers!:

**xxxxCrimson Moonxxxx**

**Raiken-Ryu**

**uhyeahi'mweird. **

Such a long review! xD And you're totally NOT. Lol. Thanks so much. Yeah. I figured if I made him TOO incompetent, there wouldn't be much of a threat on Amu and Ikuto's end. I think he can be smart when he wants to be, but that's mainly due to his sadisticness than anything. LOL, yeah, I knew it would come across as weird; how many people are able to dial with their feet? One thing I neglected to mention though is that Amu's phone has little tabs that are able to go through a list; then Ikuto would only need to hit the phone button. (Got the idea from my phone) Of course, it was a risk because he could have easily messed up, even though he used the very tip of his shoe. Hope this explains a bit lool. XD

**sierraphantom**

**Ikutoluver:** YAY, another Ikuto lover! *Glomp*

_________________________________________________

**"Chapter 4: Promise"**

It seemed no time at all when Ikuto, Utau, Yukari and Nikaidou arrived at the hotel the latter three had been staying at. Ikuto could see it was a fancy hotel, and wondered if Easter would be able to track him down here. Utau seemed to know what he was thinking, for she caught his eye and shook her head. "They might be powerful, Ikuto, but they won't find us here. Plus..." She looked to the floor slightly. "I think they're waiting for you to go to them."

"He knows me too well," Ikuto grit his teeth. "Of course he knows I'll go back...and he'll be ready to sick his men on me then."

"Which was why we suggested a plan," Yukari nodded, as the four began to head up to their room. "Running head-long into a trap would do none of us good. We have to be prepared for the worst, because if your step father doesn't want to lose something, it's definitely his 'puppet'," She looked at Ikuto apologetically. "He didn't exactly plan for you to turn against him, and who knows what he'll do now that you have."

"I don't care what he does to me," Ikuto said shortly. "As long as Amu is unharmed. "

Nikaidou opened the door with the key and allowed them all entrance before locking it tight. "Just to be safe," He answered at Yukari's inquiring look. "Remember, this is Easter we're dealing with. We're all former employees."

Utau took a seat on the couch and freed Amu's charas from their eggs, and Ikuto held the Humpty Lock tightly in his palm, feeling the Dumpty Key resonating in his pocket. He closed his eyes, tuning it out. The lock felt cold in his hand; it didn't belong with him... but with Amu. It would work for no one but her, just like the key worked for no one but him. His left hand reached into his pocket and pulled out the glowing key, giving a shudder as it was pushed closer to the lock until their cold metal brass barely touched.

His sister watched him. "You're wondering what will happen when the lock and key draw together, aren't you?" She said softly. Ikuto simply nodded, then turned his gaze to the carpet. He had tried it once a few months ago, but the lock had rejected the key then; would it make a difference now? In truth, he had his own theory about why it hadn't worked then, and it had been because Amu hadn't quite accepted him yet, and it most likely would never work unless that acceptance went both ways.

_But Amu.... loves Tadase... _

Sighing, he replaced the items back into his pants pockets, ignoring the shuddering emanating from both. Yukari and Nikaidou went into the kitchen to prepare dinner, and could occasionally be heard bickering over who was cooking what right. Ikuto chuckled lightly, remembering how flustered he made Amu whenever he teased her. The rosy color her cheeks would become, the sparkle in her eyes growing brighter, how she wanted to believe him... but he hadn't been able to be serious. Not then. He was still an Easter pawn, her enemy, and could not grow too close to her because of the forbidden wall between them. Now, however...

Easter had kidnapped her, using her against him; somehow, their relationship had been discovered by his step-father. He'd done his best to avoid her when necessary, not get too close to her in fear of her being taken from him too, but he still could not keep himself away from her. And yet, when he did, when he accepted the pain and the irrecoverable truth - the fact that they were enemies to the end and nothing else - every road he took, every step she made, only aligned them on the same path towards one another. It was always one step forwards, two steps back when trying to avoid her for her own good. Yet he knew blaming himself - or her - would only be taking away the blame on the person who deserved it, the person who had taken everything from him, and would have abducted the girl despite their friendly relationship.

Still.. the fact that Easter had discovered she meant so much to him was very unnerving indeed. Had he been spied upon? Though it didn't really matter how they figured it out; the point was that they had, and now Amu was paying the price for it. "Hey, Utau?" He looked over at his twin-tailed younger sister, who looked up at the sound of her name. "Do you think we should get the Kiddy King involved in this...?"

Utau shook her head slowly. "Tadase would only get the others to invade Easter, and that would only get them captured too. I know they're her friends, but there's certain things they can't even know, for their own safety. We'll break her out of there, without them even knowing, and if Amu wants to tell them then, then they can know. If the situation weren't so dangerous, I'd tell them immediately, but..."

"This is Easter," Ikuto finished. "They got more power."

Utau gave a stiff nod. "We were lucky to get you out. Of course," She looked up at her brother with hard, but gentle eyes. "I wouldn't have rested until I did. It's bad enough you're stuck working for them while I..." She stopped suddenly, pain shining through her lavender eyes. Ikuto walked slowly up to her before placing a hand on her shoulder, causing the blond-haired girl to look up, her eyes now filled with rare tears.

"I'm glad you're free, Utau. I'm so glad." Ikuto said softly. "I've always wanted that. I know what you're going to say," He continued quickly as she made to open her mouth, "That it was for my sake. I know. But along the way, you lost yourself, and that's something I never wanted. Especially for you."

"But.." Ikuto's voice was barely audible. "Ikuto... "

At that moment, Yukari and Nikaidou, talking over one another, re-entered the room, and Ikuto removed his hand from his sister's shoulder and faced them as Utau finally looked back up with a composed face. The red-haired woman smiled at them, holding out two plates of food. "I'm sure you two are hungry. Especially you, Ikuto-san."

Ikuto wasn't aware of just hungry he was until the aroma of the food made his mouth water and his stomach gave loud growls of hungry desire. "Yeah." He got his plate as Utau followed his lead and the four were seated at the coffee table, silently eating while Nikaidou switched on the television to a random channel just to break the silence. There was nothing but the sound of chewing and silverware clattering until the meal was finished, and then Nikaidou switched off the television and turned a hard gaze upon Ikuto.

"First, Ikuto-kun, before we come up with a plan," He folded his hands beneath his chin. "We need to know exactly what happened. As much as you know."

Ikuto looked back at his empty plate. "I was told, upon my arrival, that father wanted to see me in his office by one of the workers. When I got up there, he told me that he wanted me to 'lock something up'. I thought it was my violin that he took from me a few days ag --"

"Your violin?" Utau hissed, her eyes narrowed. "He... took _dad's_ violin from you? Our _father's_ last remaining possession?" The look on Ikuto's face confirmed what Utau asked, and her eyes hardened even more. "_That... guy_."

"This isn't surprising, though," Yukari put in. "Not with how precious it is to you, Ikuto. He needed a hold over you, and he figured by taking it, he would get it."

Ikuto gave a stiff nod. "He figured I would do anything he wanted because he took that away from me, but when he... lifted Amu up...he said he'd taken yet another precious thing from me.." His voice became a growl, his fists clenched at his sides. "I would not do it. Lock her up in that place. I told him to let her go. He wouldn't. I found myself demanding it, and he started to get pissed because I wasn't doing what he wanted, and the more I tried to get her away from him, the angrier he got, and then he ordered his guards to come in and secure me while he got Amu locked up. They knocked me out and when I awoke, I was in some room. I managed to get out of there with Yoru's help and -- YORU!" Ikuto's eyes went wide as he cut himself off in mid-sentence. "He's still there!"

Utau's expression became one of shock. "I was wondering where he was! So Easter took him as well?" The snarl was heard in the back of her throat.

"We'll get him back, too," Yukari answered. "Please finish, Ikuto."

Ikuto continued. "I had managed to get to Amu. When I saw her, she was pale, dirty, and bloody. They'd obviously hurt her, but before I could get out the door with her, _he_ came and launched something into my shoulder, some kind of needle, I think, and --"

"A needle?" Nikaidou spoke sharply. "What kind of needle?"

"Let me see," Yukari leaned up off the couch and Ikuto pulled the cloth away from his right shoulder to show the wound. The three others gasped, and Ikuto himself swallowed hard at the purple-ish swollen lump emerging from his flesh. "I don't know what it was they had in there, but I just know it knocked me out right away."

"Are you feeling okay? No nausea, dizziness, pain anywhere?" Nikaidou seemed the most shocked out of the group.

"No," Ikuto answered. "Just a little burning from that wound."

Yukari exchanged a nervous glance with the man as Nikaidou sighed. "That purple color to it... you don't find injections that cause that abnormal color. There's only one thing that could be..."

"W-what, Nikaidou-san?" Utau's expression was fearful.

Nikaidou glanced at the girl then back at the wound on Ikuto's shoulder. "That can only be... X-egg energy."

As soon as he finished, Ikuto's heart began to suddenly pound furiously in his throat. _X-egg... energy? No way._ Then searing pain erupted through his shoulder blade; his head began spinning rapidly, and his stomach churned, wanting to release the contents he'd just finished eating. His hands closed over his mouth as he felt it coming up, and he struggled to his feet to find the washroom, but the dizziness clouded his eyes, and he found himself vomiting as he sunk to his knees with severe pain in his head worse than any headache he'd ever had.

"Ikuto!" Utau was at his side in an instant, moving his hair away from his face. "W-what's wrong with him?" Her voice was panicked as she looked up at the two adults who'd joined her.

"It's taking effect," Nikaidou was astonished. "Apparently, it works right away, then takes time to completely go through the blood stream before starting again. I have no idea how to react to this, I've never seen something like this before. It's in his bloodstream.. surely this can kill him..."

"Ikuto!" Tears were falling down Utau's cheeks. "Ikuto, please hold on! We need a hospital or something!"

He was shivering as though he had been soaking inside a frozen pond. He could feel his eyes rolling in the back of his head as his body began twitching uncontrollably.

"A seizure," Nikaidou noted. "I don't know what they can do, but we need a hospital right now."

He was in no position to protest, and fear was actually overwhelming him. He was scared, not knowing what was wrong with him, what would happen to Amu if he couldn't get to her. If he died here....

"Yukari, go get some cold, wet rags from the bathroom, I'll take him to car with Utau."

Ikuto felt himself being lifted and in a matter of minutes, met the cold, night air before he was strapped into the car, Utau sitting beside him as Nikaidou jumped into the drivers seat and Yukari came running out of the hotel and into the car. They took off immediately, and were very nearly speeding down the road. Not even four blocks down, traffic was blocking the main road to the hospital.

"Come on!" Nikaidou snapped, honking thunderously on his horn.

Yukari was placing the wet rags on Ikuto's wound as well as his head while trying to hold the boy down as he thrashed from the seizure attack. Normally, it would be inadvisable to hold down a person who was having a seizure, but with the window right by Ikuto's head, she had no choice. She felt heat emanating from his forehead. "He's getting a really bad fever, Yuu." The car took off with a screech again down the main road as it cleared.

"Almost there," Nikaidou said quickly. "Hold on, Ikuto, we're almost there."

He couldn't bring himself to say anything; he barely had any idea what was going on. He struggled to breathe, his chest tightening. His airways felt as if they were being constricted. He felt extremely hot from the fever, and groaned as his vision blurred. He was going to die, he was sure of it.

The car jolted to a stop, and he was pried from the car and into cold, wispy air again before his eyes zoomed through white lights and many beeping machines. The last thing he heard was Nikaidou yelling for a doctor before darkness overtook him.

________________________________________

"Well, well."

Amu's eyelids slowly opened, seemingly taking all of her strength to do so. But she glared hard at the man standing before her, the large-fore headed ugly step father of Ikuto, who was wearing a disgusting smirk as he looked her over. "You look as if you're half-dead."

"Not yet," Amu found herself smirking. "It will take a lot more than this for you to kill me, you ugly bastard. Though I wonder how much it would take for _you_ to die."

A hand snapped across her face, tossing Amu's head back, but the girl did not so much as whimper. "Growing some guts now, are you? Are you confident that my idiotic step-son will come to save you?"

Another smirk. "Not really. I can depend on myself, though I will say that Ikuto's stronger than you make him out to be. He won't just lay down and die. And neither will I."

"Ah." A chuckle. "No wonder he likes you. You've got backbone. Though you're still a little girl, and therefore, you are still easy to break."

"You can try," Amu said indifferently. "But if you get so much as an inch near me, I'll be sure to kick you so hard that _you_ break. You're not as strong as you think you are. And," She chuckled, shaking her head. "I bet Ikuto knows that. Even if I'm not able to get out of here by myself, when he comes, you will wish you never messed with him or me."

Another hard slap to the face made her head jolt sideways, but she met the man's cold eyes with her own. No matter how many times this jackass hit her, she would not cry. She would not break. She was Hinamori Amu, and she still had her Cool N' Spicy side for a reason. She could be cold just as she could be nice.

"You'd better shut your mouth, you brat," Kazoumi sneered. "Or else it'll get you in more pain than you're already in."

"Ha! You don't see me whimpering, do you? Like I'm scared of being hit."

He smacked the girl hard again as he leapt forward and seized her by her neck. Amu stared at him without an ounce of fear, and swiftly aimed a kick to his kneecaps, making the man yell out in pain and crumple to his knees. "You little bitch!" He roared.

Amu was not affected by the insult. "I told you not to come near me, idiot. You'll hurt more once Ikuto kicks your ass."

There was a sudden hard knee to her stomach, making Amu yelp and cough up blood. She couldn't breathe, and her legs wobbled as they attempted to buckle underneath her. Pain seared through her, and she couldn't deny that this hurt more than anything she'd ever experienced before. Tears stung her eyes, but she would not cry. If she cried, she'd break..

"Are you hurting now?" Came the sadistic reply as the man's hands grabbed a handful of her hair. "Maybe now you'll watch what you say. I can hurt you worse than this, little girl. You are not invincible, no matter how strong your will is. I will break you. I will. And no one, not even my step-son, is going to stop me from getting your power."

"My power?" Amu choked out, spitting up more blood. "What power --?"

"The power that allows you to transform using the Humpty Lock. Not just anyone can just use that. There's something about you that allows you to do so...." He lifted her head to look at the girl's face. "I intend to get that power. Just as I will get the same power from Ikuto. I know all about the matching Lock and Key, and with both holder's power, I will get the Embryo." He laughed. "It seems I will be getting Ikuto's power soon enough. That boy is on the brink of death, and when he comes back for you, his power will be mine."

Amu's eyes were wide. "No.." Ikuto was...

"Yes." The man sneered. "I'd think about that if I were you, because while you'll definitely be seeing him again, he won't be the Ikuto you remember anymore. And once I get your power, which I will definitely do, you won't even be able to remember yourself."

"You'll never get away with this," Amu growled. "You'll never get me to do what you want. No matter what you do to me."

Kazoumi, who had gotten up and began walking away from her, turned to smirk at her. "Who said I would just do anything to you? Ikuto may be on the brink of death, but I can hurt him more than just physical torture. And maybe your little Guardian friends, too..."

"NO!" Amu shouted. "You hurt them, and I'll --!"

"You'll what? You can't do anything to stop me, all tied up like that. I will break you, and you had best be prepared to feel the most mental anguish you'll ever feel in your pathetic little life. Hinamori Amu." He exited the room with a sadistic laugh that echoed across the walls.

Amu couldn't stop the tears from running down her face. "You... bastard. You hurt my friends... or Ikuto.. and _I will hurt you_. My power is mine alone, and you will never have it!"

But she wondered... if Kazoumi would soon get Ikuto's power... what had he done to the boy? What would he do to break Ikuto beyond repair? Her eyes betrayed the fear she felt and her heart was terrified. Ikuto was hurt because of her.."I-Ikuto..." The sobs were escaping her throat against her will. "Please be okay... I need you..."

______________________________________

**The breaking... is about to begin. xD Lol. I feel so bad for them both. ;__; Ugh, can someone please shove evil step dad off the tower already? 8D I know this is moving pretty slowly so far, but it'll pick up in the next few chapters.**


	5. Rescue

**Author's Note:**

Ack. So late. Gomen. T__T Didn't have inspiration to write. Thanks to CrystalPenn who helped with the beginning of this chapter! =D Also, was anyone else a puddle of miserable tears like me at the end of episode 77? T__T I swear, it affected me more than the manga, and that's rare! And btw, Death Rebel is epic! ;D

Suuz112 - Aw, I'm sorry to hear that! O: I hope you're feeling better! Lol, same! Cool N Spicy Amu ftw! Ha ha ha, I'll just say this; there will be pain and suffering. But there will be happiness. That is all. ;D Lol, I really intend to. It just sucks when I have zero inspiration when I wake up one day.. xDDD

Saya143 - Thank you!

sierraphantom - Thankies!

Japaneseanimeluvr34 - Thanks so much! LAWL, yeah, that part made me snicker. He really is large-foreheaded, so I just had to throw it at him, the fugly asshole. xDD

KyoxSakiFan - Arigatou! = D I really hope I don't disappoint then! xD Lol, we're all just sadists, aren't we? ;D - Proud one - Oho, you should! Thank you! Ahhh 30 Minutes... I need to re-write that fic completely once I'm done with this one, it's so outdated and I had very little facts on the Ikuto Arc then. xDD.

Wildeh - Lol, ohhhh yes. =D Though Ikuto gets to do some of that this chapter. ;D

Thanks to everyone who reviewed! 333

_____________________________________________

**"Chapter Four: "Rescue"**

Ikuto lied on a soft, white hospital bed. His blue, sapphire eyes were shut but he could still feel IV pierced in his left arm and wet droplets falling on his face. There was a sniffling sound, followed by more droplets. _Who's crying? _He wondered. _Am I crying? Or is someone...crying for me? _He slightly opened his eyes. In front of him was a vague, hazy image of a pink haired girl, crying above of him. He heard her voice calling out to him over and over. "Ikuto...Ikuto..."

"Amu..." he whispered. He opened his eyes wider. The hallucination of the pink haired girl faded into a girl with long blonde hair. It was Utau. She saw him open his eyes through her salty tears and sighed with relief.

"Ikuto!" she cried. "Thank god! You're alright!"

Then, after seeing Utau's face, it hit him. _"AMU!" _She was still in Easter. He quickly sat up straight and furiously pulled the bed sheets off him. The sound of footsteps made him look him; Yukari and Nikaidou had rushed into the room after hearing Utau's squeal of delight.

"DAMN IT!" He yelled furiously. Without hesitation, he angrily pulled out the IV needle from his arm, hopped off the bed, and started putting on his shoes.

"Eh? Ikuto!" Said Nikaidou, astonished." What are you doing? You're bleeding-"

"I'm going back to Easter."

"But you just got better! You've been unconscious for 2 hours!" Protested Utau.

"What?!"

"You had a seizure and have been resting here to recover-"

"Shit!" He'd been unconscious for two whole hours. Who knew what might have happened to Amu during that period of time. Different thoughts came rushing to his head. He could just imagine the things his step-father could have done to her by now. He had to save her _now_. He tried to leave the room, but Nikaidou stopped him, blocking his only exit.

"Move." He said, gritting his teeth.

"Ikuto, we need to think of a plan first."

"Screw the plan. Move!"

"No."

"MOVE, NIKAIDOU!"

"DON'T YOU HEAR ME TELLING YOU TO THINK THIS THROUGH?!" Nikaidou snapped, his composure falling away.

"DON'T YOU HEAR ME TELLING YOU TO MOVE?!"

"Stop it, you two!" said Yukari, stepping in between them. Ikuto shoved past both of them, trying to get to the door, when suddenly, Utau persistently cut in front of him, making him stop in his tracks. She forced the full power of her lavender eyes on him. "Ikuto, Nikaidou is right. We need to think of how to save Amu before we take any risks."

"Doing nothing and wasting time on a plan is already taking a risk!" Ikuto growled, his voice rising to a shout. "IT'S RISKING HER LIFE, UTAU! They might have killed her during the two hours I've been unconscious! And yet you want to waste more time?!"

"Ikuto..."

His solemn blue eyes stared directly into the eyes of his beloved sister. "Utau...please..."

She stared at him, surprised by his plead and sincere voice. _He really loves her_, She thought sadly to herself. She looked away from her brother's gaze, blushing, to lay at his arm, which was dripping with blood. "At least...let me mend your arm first..." She ran towards a safety kit that sat on a shelf on the wall. She pulled out a roll of bandages, a tourniquet, and began wrapping it around his wound. Ikuto stared mesmerizingly at his sister, surprised by her actions. She had always been there for him, no matter what the circumstances. He closed his eyes and smiled.

"Thank you, Utau."

She blushed lightly again and smiled as she finished her work. "That should do it."

"Good," He flexed his arm out, ignoring the stinging from the IV he'd ripped from his flesh. "Now, I'm going." He looked at the three, his eyes fixated especially on Nikaidou. "With or without your help."

Yukari and Nikaidou exchanged a brief glance before Nikaidou sighed, and placed a hand on Ikuto's shoulder. "There's no stopping you, it seems, when you want to get back your most precious person. I can see you love her more than anything."

"Yes," Ikuto replied honestly. "I do love her."

Nikaidou smiled, and gave a nod. "Then, Yukari and I will meet you in the car if you have anything else you need to get." The man exited the room with Yukari in tow. He could hear Utau's footsteps as she stood behind him and turned to face her. The girl's eyes were sad.

"So you do love Amu."

"Yeah," Ikuto could not find himself to speak hardly to his sister; he knew she loved him so much, but she loved him in a way he could never love her in. "I'm sorry, Utau. I love you as my little sister. That's all I can give." It hurt him slightly to hurt his own sister, but she needed to understand. To know. To accept.

The blond-headed teenager lifted her head, her face sheilded by bangs now falling away, her features composed, and a smile curved upon her lips. "I know. I understand, Ikuto. Amu needs you, as much as you need her. You two.. belong together." She swallowed, grinning wider. "All I've wanted was for you to be happy, and when you're with her, I see how happy she makes you. I think the least I can do is let you be together, without being an obstacle rather than your support."

"Thank you, Utau." Ikuto gave her one of his older brother warm smiles, happy she understood.

"Now let's go get her back," The girl walked ahead of him and he followed behind her. The two were almost immediately stopped as they reached the end of the hall that lead to the exit by a nurse, who began trying to get Ikuto back into his room. "We haven't discharged you, you cannot go."

"I'm leaving," Ikuto growled. "I don't care if you're not discharging me."

"You need rest!" She protested, putting a firm hand on his shoulder to stop him from walking away. "You were on the brink of death when they brought you in here, and I am not going to allow you to become sicker just because --"

"Get out of my way," Ikuto hissed, tossing her hand away from his shoulder. "Patients do not have to stay if they do not wish to, and no one, not even you, is going to keep me from leaving. Now move or I'll make you."

"I can call security," She threatened, her eyes narrowing. "You are not leaving."

Utau placed her hands on her hips, eyes narrowed dangerously. "We're going, and there's nothing you can do about it. Call your security; for disrupting the peace, we'd most likely be thrown out anyway. We have rights, and we're leaving, against your reccomendations. I am Hoshina Utau, an idol, and you will not keep my brother from leaving. I can get you fired in an instant, got it?" The nurse's face paled, and Utau nodded, satisfied with her threat. "Come on, Ikuto," She turned away and began walking down the hall with a huff and Ikuto followed her. The nurse scowled behind them, but did not call for anyone. Ikuto had to hand it to her; Utau was good.

Once they reached the outside, they were met by Nikaidou and Yukari who were leaning against the van's side with somewhat annoyed expressions. "What took you two so long?" Nikaidou inquired.

Ikuto sighed. "A nurse tried to stop me from leaving, but when Utau threatened her job, she dropped it."

Yukari looked over at the blonde-headed girl, smiling approvingly. "You'd stand up to anyone, wouldn't you?"

"Of course," Utau smiled slightly. "When it's to save my brother's most important person."

They then climbed into Nikaidou's car and once Nikaidou joined them, the van sped off in the direction of Easter.

"Okay, so once we get there, what should we do?" Yukari asked the group, turning around to gaze at the two siblings.

Ikuto leaned up in his seat. "I'll go in alone first for a bit. I only need thirty minutes at the most to get Amu out of there, if I'm right about where she's being kept. If Yoru's with her, him as well. If I'm lucky, I can get the violin. If I'm not back in half and hour, you guys can come in. I'll take Amu's phone in with me and you can call me or I can call you if I need back-up."

Nikaidou, although not liking the idea of Ikuto going into Easter alone judging by his skeptical expression, knew this was going to be the best deal he was going to get, so he stiffly nodded and looked back to the road. Yukari nodded as well, and when Ikuto turned to look at her, so did Utau.

"Do you know which room Hinamori-san's in, though?" Nikaidou asked.

He smirked. "I brought the Lock for that. It'll react to her presence. I don't want to risk the charas, so they went back into their eggs until I bring Amu out safely."

"Good plan," Yukari smiled.

They finally reached Easter in what it seemed was no time at all. Ikuto advised for them to stay hidden in the shadows so the sight of the car wouldn't cause much of a commotion and slid out the door. The parking lot was dark and deserted, like he expected it to be at this hour. Ikuto crept like a cat, silently and stealthy until he reached the back door which was bolted shut. Taking out the hair pin Utau had given him, he began to pick the lock and managed within minutes. With one last look back at the three, he quickly sped through the building, taking out the lock as he went. It gave small shudders that increased as he crept through the staircases.

"Getting closer," He murmured. A couple of staircases up, it gave a vibrating-like shudder and a small glimmer of light. "Almost there." He held the object out in front of him, until it began shining brightly in the dark stairwell just as he passed the door to the 75th floor. "Shit," He hissed, sheilding the bright light with his hands. "I know you're almost to Amu, but stop shining, or I'm screwed."

He could feel the key in his left pocket radiating. He sucked in his breath as he opened the door, peering and seeing no one before he followed the light's guidance down the hall, and reached the door where the Lock began to very nearly leap out his hand it began vibrating so badly at. "She's in here," He whispered, and wasted no time picking the lock and opening the door in a near toss, his eyes meeting darkness and he scanned the small room, seconds later landing on the golden-tinned ones, and the girl looked up at him with a look of astonishment on her face.

"I-Ikuto..." She looked as though she were on the verge of either crying or yelling.

"Shh, I'm here," Ikuto told her gently as he raced to her side. "I'm going to get you out of --"

"Ikuto, nya?"

Ikuto tore his eyes away from Amu to see Yoru, in a small cage. The cat chara's tail was wagging. "You came, nya!" The teen smiled at his chara and picked the lock for the cage, and Yoru exited quickly and jumped onto Ikuto's shoulder, rubbing his head against his owner affectionately. "Thanks, Ikuto, nya!"

Ikuto saw Amu's facial expression change out of the corner of his eye and he turned sideways to look at her. She was smiling, her eyes had brightened, and her cheeks had become rosy from the blush. "You... really did..come back for me... again.." Her voice cracked from dryness.

Ikuto walked over to her, smirking and beginning to undo her bonds. "Idiot, of course I would. You don't belong here... with these vile monsters..."

Once he had freed her, he lifted the small girl into his arms, holding her protectively. The girl clung to him, her arms wrapping around his neck, surprising him slightly. "They... they told me you were..."

"I'm not," Ikuto told her, defiantly. "They tried, but they couldn't defeat me. They won't beat you either. Let's go. Nikaidou, my sister, and Sanjou-san are waiting outside in the car. Your charas, too. They're waiting for you."

She smiled wider, burying her head into his chest. "I'll be so happy to see those three again. They're probably so worried."

"They are," Ikuto confirmed. "They don't have to worry anymore now, because you're back. Yoru," He called over to his chara. "Character transformation."

"I can't, Ikuto," Yoru said sadly, his ears dropping. "I'm too exhausted, nya. Whatever they got you with took it's toll on me, too. I can do a character change, though, nya."

As soon as he'd finished, the cat ears and tail popped out of the boy, and Ikuto sighed. "I don't know how effective it will be but it's better than nothing. Thanks, Yoru. I'll let you rest once we get back to the hotel."

"Okay, nya!" Came Yoru's pleased response.

Ikuto darted out the doorway with Amu held tightly in his arms, using his enhanced vision and sound to his advantage. It wouldn't be like last time. This time, he'd know if they were coming. He reached the stairwell, running down them easily, not hearing any sound of Easter anywhere. "Heh. I expected them to at least be on guard, but this is too easy."

Amu said nothing, and it wasn't until Ikuto looked that he saw her eyes were closed. She'd fallen asleep in his arms. Smiling, he made a mental note to tease her about that later. But after he made sure she was all right. She would need to be seen by a doctor, too. _Great,_ he thought, _I'm going to see that damn nurse again._ Then the pain came; sudden, strong and sickening. His eyes widened, and he fell to one knee, still cradling Amu. His vision blurred horribly, his stomach turning.

"Not again," He hissed. "Not now.."

He couldn't stop it as he vomited, careful to move Amu away from him before he did. She awoke, worry covering her features. "I-Ikuto? Are you okay? What's wrong..?"

He blinked rapidly, trying to clear his head. "I-I'm fine, let's just get out of here."

Amu said something, but he couldn't hear her; his hearing and vision were zoning out! He was on the verge of collapsing yet again. He knew her voice was rising, and tried to explain he couldn't hear her but his breathing was being cut off, and he set Amu in his lap as he grabbed his throat, struggling to breath as his mouth sucked in air deep into his lungs, and catching nothing. He felt as if he were suffocating, and the wound on his arm was on absolute fire. _Don't let me die here_, he pleaded. _Not until Amu's safe. Please.._

Then, before he knew it, he had been knocked onto his back, and Amu had been taken from him. Through the haze, he saw his step father, holding Amu around the waist as she kicked and screamed, smirking down at him. He couldn't even make the growl his breathing had become so struggling.

"Are we having problems here, Ikuto?" The man snidely remarked, pressing his foot down hard on Ikuto's chest, making him cough. Ikuto could barely hear him. "How unfortunate. Although it wouldn't hurt me in the slightest to have your miserable little ass die here, I can't let that happen just yet." He pulled out an injection needle with his free hand and held it down to Ikuto's face. "This is your vaccine. It would cure you instantly. Do you want it?"

Ikuto gasped as taking breaths became harder. He wanted to speak; to tell Kazoumi to fuck off and that he didn't need his stupid ass vaccine, but his strained breathing wouldn't allow it. He knew he would be dead in a matter of minutes, but he knew what Kazoumi wanted him to do, beg, and he would not fall for it. "I..." Ikuto tried his hardest to speak, panting heavily. ".. don't... need... fuck... you..."

Kazoumi's smirk broadened. "How stubborn you are. It wouldn't do your cute little girlfriend here any good than for you to die here, would it? Can't you let go of your pride, if you really love her like you say you do? If you want to save her, shouldn't you give up everything, including your pride? So what's it going to be?"

"N-no," Ikuto stood his ground. "Rot... in Hell..."

Kazoumi gave a bark of a laugh. "A little piece of filth like you is going to be the only one rotting in Hell. You are an ambomination, you black cat. You stink of bad luck and misfortune." He gave his step son another stomp on the chest, increasing his breathing problem. Amu screamed in panic and struggled harder to get out of the man's grasp. "How is your breathing, _son_?" He mocked, leaning down to gaze into the boy's face. "Not quite so strong are you now, huh? No, you're quite the opposite. You're weak, and disgusting, and pathetic, I don't know why anyone would risk anything for you. You're a stray, black cat who should be eaten by the dogs."

"Leave him alone!" Amu yelled, eyes welling with tears. "Leave Ikuto alone!"

"Oh?" Kazoumi looked down at Amu and lifted a hand to her face tenderly, brushing away her tears. "So you're finally letting that little facade of yours fall. Good girl." His old, wrinkled hands carressed her chin, and Amu shivered uncomfortably. At that moment, guards came running down the stairwell, and Kazoumi nodded. "Good, you're here. Don't let Ikuto up, no matter what. Though..." He sneered at the boy again, "I don't think he quite has the strength to get up. Ha ha ha." His eyes glinted mischeviously at Amu. "I've gone easy on you, but now you will break. By my hand."

He dropped the girl hardly to the ground, making her cry out in pain at the hard impact and forced himself on top of her, seizing her wrists to pin her down and using his body weight to secure her. His eyes locked with Ikuto's as Amu became distressed and began squirming beneath the man. "Of course, I'll let your lover boy over there watch first-hand as I break you."

"Don't..." Ikuto did not like this man touching her. "Don't.. you... fucking... touch her..!" He attempted to get up, but the men kicked him down again. His eyes blurred, but he fought it, and tried again, only to be knocked back down. But he would not give up. Even though his breathing was only getting worse, and if he strained too much he would inevitably die, he had to get Amu away from this sick bastard who was his step father.

"Ha." The man seemed unphased by Ikuto's threats and stuck his fingers up Amu's skirt, and as the girl gave a loud, throat-tearing cry of pain, Ikuto did not want to think about what he was doing to her.

"YOU BASTARD!" He roared, jumping to his feet and collapsing again before struggling up again. He would not stop until he got Amu away from him.. he would not hurt her like this! "I won't let you hurt her you sick, disgusting bastard!" Another sharp kick to the face by one of the guards sent him down, and he felt tears sting his eyes as the small girl's cries only became more frantic, loud and pained, and Ikuto crawled, knowing he was humilating himself but not bringing himself to care, and gently pulled at Amu's hand, moving himself closer. His head was bent low, everything seemed to be going. Amu looked up at him with her pained, tear-stained eyes as she sobbed, and Ikuto could not look at what the man was doing to her. "Stop..." His voice was, for the first time in his life, a beg. "Please.."

Kazoumi snickered at him, inserting his third finger. Amu raised her head sharply with a scream ripping from her throat that Ikuto never wanted to hear again before tossing her head to the side, sobbing in complete and utter agony.

"STOP IT!" Ikuto's dam broke, the tears came spilling from his eyes. "STOP HURTING HER! SHE'S JUST A KID! JUST STOP IT!!" His fists clenched until his knuckles turned white. He began to feel his body weakening. He was going to die, and the last thing he was going to see was Amu's pained face and Kazoumi's triumphant expression.

It was all crashing down. Everything was being taken from him. Kazoumi had gotten what he wanted. He'd wanted to see Amu and Ikuto both broken, and he had couldn't taken anymore from them, now. He heard the footsteps, followed by the hand digging into his hair and pulling him up and the plunging of the needle into the same spot he'd recieved it last time. He felt the coldness of the vaccine run through his system. He would live, but he knew he'd rather die than to live knowing how much pain Amu was now in. She'd been scarred in a way that girls should never be scarred, violated in a way that was repulsive and undignified on the highest level. Ikuto's vision cleared, his breathing became even.

"That should do it," Kazoumi commented, walking back over to Amu, who'd passed out. "However, I can't say the same for your little sweetheart."

Before Ikuto even knew what was happening, Kazoumi had shot a needle into Amu's forearm, and the girl gasped as she was pried from her slumber, and Ikuto saw the mass amount of purple liquid drain into her body. Rage overcoming him like never before, he charged headlong at Kazoumi, knocking the older man down as well as succeeding at knocking the needle away from Amu and began to pound, with as much strength as he could muster into his step-father's face. He felt as if he could murder him, every thought process was gone. The only thing he could think of was revenge; the darkness consumed him, and he was nearly shocked at how evil he could really be, how much rage could emanate from his body. He thrashed the man's head repeatedly against the floor, the red blood spilling all around his step-father's head and Kazoumi was smirking, and that only pissed him off more and he wrapped both hands around his windpipe, willing him to die.

Seeing this man's eyes bulge, him struggle to breath in his mind's eye, made Ikuto feel a sense of pleasure, and he intended to make sure it became a reality.

"Ikuto!"

But his attempt was cut short as he was wrestled off the man by a strong pair of arms, and he fought and kicked against the person, growling, wanting to kill the man lying before him --

When he caught Utau's scared expression. He stopped resisting, panting, eyes wide. He saw that Kazoumi now lay unmoving, and the guards were tending to him. What.. what had he done? He'd never thought himself capable to ever unleash that kind of violence.. always threatening, and a small fight here and there, but actually intending to murder...

The pair of arms released him, and as Ikuto turned to face them, he realized it was Nikaidou who was looking at him as though he'd never seen him before. Ikuto looked away, to Amu, who was huddled in Yukari's arms and had passed out again. "Let's go," Nikaidou said quietly. "We did what we came to do.." His gaze rested on Ikuto who looked quickly from his unconscious step father to Amu before nodding slowly.

"Yeah..."

They left Easter headquarters quickly, and Ikuto, hands shaking from the aftermath like a tremor after an earthquake, held the sleeping form of Amu to his chest, his head buried in her hair. No one said a word as they drove back towards the hotel, and Ikuto knew the other three were just as appalled and scared of his actions as much as he was.

The darkness within him had won.

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**Oh boy. That was too much fun. Poor Amu, though. ;__; I really hate torturing her, but you gotta do what you gotta do for the sake of plot, lol. So what's going to happen now? Well, so far, Kazoumi's plans have been working to a t, and it seems as if they'll continue to. Though both Ikuto and Amu are stronger than he gives them credit for, and now that he's at least got her back, Ikuto won't give in so easily. ;D**


	6. Struggle

**Author's Note: **

Another (late) update for my lovely readers. ;D

Suuz112 - Yes, I feel so bad for poor Amu-chan. T_T Ha ha ha, yes, they are. =P Exactly, lol. Taking sadistic pleasure out of it. xD

Crystal Penn - Hehe, I do as well. I can't stand that guy. I start growling while making him say these things. Aw, yeah. I could see Ikuto being protective like Edward. I'm glad, it's what I was hoping for. =D Yeah, and if I DID leave him dead, there'd be no plot. xD So as much as I hate him, I need him for the plot.

sierraphantom - Thank you!

KyoxSakiFan - LAWL. xD Thank you so much! Hehe, I will. It's only going to get darker, I promise that. ;D Aw, thank you. Yeah, I agree. I pretty much like it, but I'm picky about a few things and want to revise it. Change the plot? Definitely not! xD The plot's the one thing I really can't afford to get rid of hehe, so no worries. ^^

Hime Cullen Tsukiyomi - Thank you! Hehe, updated the soonest I could. ^^

.i' - lol, he totally isn't. Though even I have to admit, this plan is a good one. =O Yes, he did, partly. He wanted to torture Ikuto so he made him watch it, but he also wanted Amu in his control, so he would have done it anyway. It was just fitting that Ikuto was there and would see it.

Saya143 - Thank you! Yes, it was very graphic. Unfortunately, it's going to to get a bit more, but nothing TOO extreme. XD

Taeniaea - Arigatou. ^_^

Thank you to all who reviewed! And to those who just favorite the story or add to their story alerts, thank you so much. Even if no reviews are being given, it's still being read, and that's all I care about, ha ha ha. So thank you!

**Author's Note #2: **

Woo. DX Long chap, this one. Um, hopefully I kept Tadase in-character? He's actually one of my likeable characters now (never used to be), but even I wanted to smack him while writing this, ha ha ha. He's still blinded by his hate for Ikuto, but he'll come through eventually. Ikuto might seem slightly OOC, but I really think he would react this way if he was really in this situation. He would really never allow Amu to be hurt, and knowing she is would really affect him. So I really don't think I made him OOC, but if anyone thinks I did, please let me know so I can not do it again. Constructive criticism is always a plus.

Also, a slight warning: Rating is up for this chap for slightly more violence. Not too extreme like the last chap, but this one is a little violent too.

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**"Chapter 6: Struggle"**

When Amu awoke to the sound of distant voices surging through her ear drums, she figured Kazoumi had come back into her prison room with more guards to dismantle her. She kept her eyes shut, and tensed her body, not wanting to open her eyes and let them see she had awoken so they could damage her further. Her body was so sore, and against her will, she groaned as the pain increased, regretting it almost immediately when she heard footsteps.

"Amu?"

But the voice that called her name wasn't cold, or sneering, or anything like those of her captives; she opened her eyes to meet sapphire that was drowned in worry, and blinked twice as she registered slowly who it was she was looking at. "I-Ikuto...?"

Ikuto fixed his concerned expression into a smirk. "Finally awake, kid? I thought you were going to sleep forever."

Amu turned a tint of red and huffed. "I'm not a k-kid." She tried getting into a sitting position, but nearly fell back over until Ikuto caught her upper arm and steadied her.

The worried expression was back. "Careful, Amu, your body is weak right now.."

"W-what..." Amu cleared her throat. "What happened to me?"

Ikuto scowled and his eyes narrowed slightly, but said nothing. He wasn't sure how Amu would handle hearing that she had basically been raped by his step-father. She was already injured and weak, he didn't want to upset her.

"Ikuto." When he caught her eyes again, Amu's were narrowed slightly. "Tell me. What happened?"

He sighed, and was about to open his mouth when another voice cut him off with a delighted, "Amu! You're awake!" He turned and looked behind him to see Yukari approaching, who was smiling in relief. The exclamation probed Nikaidou and Utau to run into the room, their appearances stunning Amu somewhat.

"Why.. are you all here?" She inquired.

Utau folded her arms as she took a seat on the armchair next to the window. "Sanjou-san, Nikaidou and I were all staying here since I had a live coming up, but a good twelve hours or so ago, Ikuto called me on your phone and told me you were both being held captive at Easter. We managed to get Ikuto, but he didn't want to leave you." To Amu's surprise, when she looked over at the midnight-blue-haired boy, he had turned a small shade of pink on his cheeks. "Unfortunately, we had to leave right away because Easter had suspected we were up to something and we needed to designate a plan to bust you out first.." Utau was blushing slightly in embarrassment as she struggled with the next words. "S-sorry, Amu... we... we would've gotten you out sooner, but.."

Amu smiled. "It's okay. Thank you, Utau, everyone." She grinned up at all of them, and when she met Ikuto's eyes, he looked away quickly.

"So after we got back here... well... let's just say that we had to rush Ikuto-kun to the hospital because it seemed the director had injected him with x-egg energy --" Nikaidou was cut off as Amu gasped, looking at Ikuto yet again.

"X-egg energy?! But that's...."

"Life-threatening," Ikuto spat. "He knew that. But he wanted me alive so he could..." He stopped, choking on the words slightly. He didn't know if he could tell Amu this.. he couldn't just casually mention it to her like he did when he was teasing her. How did you tell the person you loved that they had been violated by another person? Not to mention, also planted with x-egg energy...?

"Ikuto.." He looked hesitantly into Amu's golden irises, that were sad and worried. He lowered his head again, clenching his fists, feeling everyone's stares on him.

"Amu... he..he wanted to break you. In front of me. He taunted me as I held my last breath and made me watch as he... hurt you..." He did not look up to meet Amu's eyes. "He... hurt you in a way I never wanted you to be hurt. Then he... got you with the x-egg energy too..."

All at once, as Amu's eyes widened, it all came back; the imprisonment, Ikuto coming to rescue her both times, the beatings, and the last act she remembered. His fingers penetrating her inner walls. Feeling dirty, she forced herself into a sitting position and wrapped her arms around her knees, lowering her head into them and allowed herself to cry, breaking down like she had never broke down before.

Yukari sat down next to her and pulled the girl into a hug. Being a woman, she could only imagine just what Amu was going through. Utau's expression was both sad and angry, having heard this for the first time. She, although she'd never admit it to the other girl, considered Amu a really close and important friend, and hated seeing a girl who was so normally upbeat and happy now become a broken shell. Nikaidou simply looked sad, his hands in his pockets as he watched Yukari console Amu. Ikuto, however, had stood up and walked without a word into the bathroom, shutting the door in a near-slam, anger and devastation overcoming him. He lowered his elbows to the sink and hovered over it, tears, rapidly and salty, running down his face. He couldn't allow himself to cry in front of the others. Hell, he hated crying period.

When he was younger, he had cried himself to sleep following the days of his father's disappearance, but soon after that, he felt as if he had cried all his tears out. He'd needed to be strong for his mother and sister, who were barely carrying themselves. He had to be the strong one, to support them, and it was no different this time. Amu needed him, and he had to be strong for her too. But this pain....

"You won," He choked out, his voice filled with venom and rage. "You fucking won. You've broken us both, and gotten what you wanted..."

There was no point in denying it. Even if he would be okay one day, Amu wouldn't. He had done something to her that Ikuto would never dream of doing to her. How would she react to having boyfriends, or even the simplest thing like kissing? Would she even allow anyone - like him - to even wrap their arms around her in a romantic gesture? That hurt him more than anything, the kind of reactions Amu would most likely give just because Kazoumi had to be a sadistic asshole and involve the girl who had nothing to do with anything.

He could still hear Amu's wails in the living room, and then he heard a knock on the door. "Ikuto?" Naturally, it was Utau. He didn't move. "Ikuto," She tried again. "Amu wants you."

"Why?" Ikuto asked bitterly. "It's practically my fault she was..."

He heard the lock pick and then there was Utau, looking furious. "You're not the one at fault, Ikuto. Stop blaming yourself. Now go out there to Amu."

"No," Ikuto said bluntly. "I can't face her..."

Utau advanced into the room. "I'll drag you in there, don't think I won't, Ikuto. Amu needs you and if you're going to stand there and feeling sorry for yourself then you have no right to say you love her."

Ikuto stared at his sister with wide eyes for a moment before glaring again. "I'm not a sturdy robot, Utau. Even I'm breakable."

Utau's expression softened. "I know, Ikuto. I'm not saying that you have to be so strong, but when you're denying seeing Amu just because you feel you can't handle it, seeing her in so much pain, you're not giving me a good impression. If you love her like you say you do, get in there and comfort her. Even if she rages and storms, says she hates you or refuses to talk to you, comfort her. She's scared and confused and upset, and she needs time to understand what has happened to her."

Ikuto said nothing. He knew she was right, and knew he had nothing left to lose with Amu hating him. But the truth was... he'd never wanted to hurt her, it pained him every time. But this was different. She'd been broken by someone else and he had been powerless to stop it. He felt disgusted with himself for not being able to stand up to his step father or the illness coursing through his body, and felt so damn guilty.

Utau had gotten impatient, however, and seized Ikuto by the arm, dragging him out with her. Ikuto glared. "Let go of me, Utau."

But the girl didn't respond, and instead dragged her brother into the living room and sat him down next to Amu. Ikuto 'tch'ed' slightly, but did not get up. Amu's cries had calmed down. Nikaidou, Yukari and Utau had given them the liberty of leaving the room allowing the two to be alone. After a few moments, he felt Amu's gaze on him, but again could not meet it. "Ikuto." She spoke softly, and when he did not respond, her hand found his arm, and at her soft touch, he forced himself to look over at her, and to his surprise, she was smiling slightly.

"Amu.." He whispered her name gently.

She scooted closer to him, gaze mesmerizing the boy sitting beside her. She could be dazzling when she wanted to be. "Thank you, Ikuto." She murmured. "You came for me twice, risking getting caught. And you..." She looked down. "You got hurt because of me."

"No," He told her gently. "None of this was your fault. You were drawn into this, just because..."

Her head found it's way to his uninjured shoulder and she sighed. "Easter is the only one to blame here. They wanted me out of the way." Then he felt warmness emanating from her face and knew she was blushing. "But.. Ikuto...?"

"Yeah?" He asked softly.

Amu lifted her head, her eyes beseeching his. "Is what Utau said true...? Do you..." She swallowed, blushing even harder. "L-love me? R-really?" She felt like an idiot immediately after finishing the question; she knew he would just start laughing, and say he didn't like her and not to get her hopes up. Her heart pounded nervously in her chest. She looked away, expecting it any second.

"Amu. Look at me."

She raised her head slowly and dared herself to meet his... sad eyes? But there was something in them now, glazed with an emotion so strongly it nearly took her breath away. Ikuto raised his hands, and cupped her face, tenderly brushing her skin. Her face felt hot as Ikuto inched closer, and as she realized what was going on, her heart nearly leapt out of her chest in excitement and his lips met hers. Ikuto's lips were warm, soft, and gentle against hers, and she closed her eyes. She could feel the nervousness that was emanating from this boy kissing her, she could sense the fear, but she wasn't afraid; If it was Ikuto, she wasn't afraid. She'd had time to think while she'd been held hostage by Easter, and she was surprised when she realized the one she'd wanted to see most of all besides her parents, or her friends, was Ikuto. She desired his presence, worried for him, missed him, and wanted to be held in his arms. She wanted to look into those blue sapphires, she wanted to blush when he teased her, to just feel something other than pain and loneliness.

She'd had time to recollect every last memory, analyzed the feelings she had when she was around them and separated them from those with Tadase. It shocked her, realizing that she loved Ikuto, not Tadase, but she didn't question it. Love was love, and she wasn't going to deny any longer that Ikuto was the one she wanted.

She opened her eyes as he pulled slowly away, his eyes boring into hers. She blushed again, but her fingers brushed against his muscular arm, soothingly, telling him that she wasn't afraid. He relaxed, and they simply sat there staring at each other for what felt like a long time.

"I love you more than anything," Ikuto whispered suddenly, and Amu's heart fluttered with happiness as she took him in, staring at him in ways she'd never thought of before, knowing he was hers, and only hers. Throwing her arms around his neck, she laid her head on his chest.

"I.. I love you, too, Ikuto." The three words she thought she'd give to Tadase, were now being directed at the one she thought she had no feelings for. She slightly was grateful that she'd been able to be in a situation to have plenty of time to think and discover her feelings. It lead her to the boy she was currently holding onto.

Ikuto seemed as if he was frozen stiff, at the words, having the love returned, having the one he desired most in his arms. Through all his anger and sadness, a new emotion was overtaking them, an emotion that was practically rare to him; love. The time for revenge would come. But right now, he wanted to savor this moment with Amu, this happiness he knew wouldn't last long. But he felt ready, ready to face whatever it was Easter would throw at them now. And he knew what he had to do.

"Amu." He pulled her away slowly, so he could peer into her golden eyes again. "I got to get the vaccine.."

She looked confused for a moment before her expression became slightly fearful. "But, Ikuto..."

He placed a finger to her lips, silencing her. "Please, let me do this for you. Let me go and get it, so you won't have to suffer like I did."

The girl simply stared at him, her gaze strong and made a pleasuring chill run down Ikuto's spine before she closed her eyes, smiled, and reopened them. "Okay. Just be careful, okay?"

"I promise, I'll be back with it." He assured. "He knows I'm coming back. I know it. But this time, I'll be ready for him."

He got to his feet, and Yoru was at his side instantly. The cat ears and tail popped out of him and he darted at lightening speed through the open window and jumped onto the next roof, swiftly and repeatedly until, some time later, he reached the building that was Easter. Jumping down from his previous rooftop, the teen hurried, though cautious, around the back where he'd gone to rescue Amu last time. His enhanced cat-like vision and sound told him no one was around and he tried the knob to check if it was locked; To his surprise, it wasn't, and he slowly opened it, preparing himself for an assault at any given moment. Nothing was impossible with Easter. He reached the stairwell with no problems, but this wasn't the difficult part; the main problem would be sneaking into the Director - his step father's - office undetected and successfully get the vaccine. He hadn't taken the time to plan this through properly, and while he wanted to scold himself for doing something so reckless and risky, he knew Amu could not wait. The longer she went with that X-egg energy in her small body, the worse effect it would have on the poor girl who'd already been dealt such torture.

As he reached the second-to-last landing, the floor on which Kazoumi's office was, Ikuto knew he would not be getting that vaccine without some consequences, and tensed his nearly-healed body for more pain that would surely come as he flung open the stairwell door and, unsympathetically, kicked his step-father's office door so hard it flung open and the wood splintered at the side. From the sudden sound of his door bursting open, Kazoumi had looked up from his place at the desk, to meet the hateful gaze of his teen step-son, without an ounce of fear. "So you've finally come."

A disturbing grin spread across his face. "I was wondering when you'd show up. But I was prepared to wait for you. As you can see, I have not heavily guarded my office, nor had anyone get in your way as you came in here." He upturned a smirk at the boy as he rose from his chair, coming around the desk to get closer to him. "But I can't say your exit will be nearly as easy." Ikuto said nothing, eying him with nothing but the deepest loathing. "So, tell me," Kazoumi spoke again, eyes dancing as if remembering something extremely pleasant, "How is the little brat? That girl... the energy should be affecting her about now..."

Ikuto stiffened, and for a moment, he contemplated just running out and going to Amu, who he knew definitely would be having some major symptoms now, though she'd been fine when he'd left, having only been half-an hour ago. But a lot could happen in thirty minutes. Pulling out the cellphone Yukari lent him, he quickly dialed Utau's number as his step father smirked at him smugly. He heard then the familiar click as Utau answered, her voice alerting him to danger immediately as she choked out a frantic, "I-Ikuto?"

"Is Amu all right?" He asked quickly. Then he heard it; Amu, screaming painfully, louder and more extreme than he'd ever heard her scream, throat-tearing and agonizing, as if she were being burned in the fires only Hell could provide, and not even when she'd been tortured by the sadistic man standing before Ikuto had she screamed like that. "AMU?!"

"She's... She's seizuring, Ikuto!" Utau sounded as if she were crying. "We're taking her to a hospital now. Her pulse is slowing down as we speak. She's dying, Ikuto! We need that vaccine! She's really pale, and her fever's well over a hundred and six...! I'll have to call you back!" The call ended before he could even open his mouth to say anything. The phone dropped from his seemingly frozen hands as the horror of knowing he was losing Amu washed over him.

Kazoumi chuckled. "She only has a short time, Tsukiyomi Ikuto." He pulled a small tube from his pocket, chuckling slowly, and waved it in front of Ikuto's face, as if mocking him. "So, are you going to try and take the vaccine, or are you going to let your little lover girl die?"

Ikuto, shaking with rage, seized the collar of his step father's shirt. "For your sake, you better hope she doesn't. Because if she does... I will be unrelenting. I will kill you, and I vow to you that. I will torture you in every sick way imaginable, before I allow you your end. And it won't be peaceful. Even in death, I will carve pain into you for what you've done to her." Before he could stop him, Ikuto had snatched the vaccine and released his step-father, who was laughing like a mad man, and Ikuto had to wonder for a moment whether the man had completely lost - what little he had ever had - his sanity.

"I'll look forward to that little threat of yours. Though, for little Amu's sake, you'd better hope that vaccine works."

"What?" Ikuto whirled back around to face him. "What are you talk --?"

Another chuckle. "That vaccine works on mild forms of x-egg energy, like yours. I specifically gave Amu an extra dose, that while taking longer to fully begin to affect the body, does double the damage, and kills faster. She has little left than hour to live. Assuming you get to her on time of course, which will now be entirely up to you since I have done my part of giving you the vaccine."

Suddenly, there were looking to be well over a hundred heavily armed security standing in the hall, entering the room, blocking the window, the vent; Ikuto cursed. Of course, why had he not anticipated this? His step father was never one to play fair, and after Ikuto had successfully attained the vaccine, delay his time to get to Amu? But Ikuto would. He would not let these guys stop him. Even if he had to kill.

"Yoru, chara transformation!"

But something hit him directly on his still-injured shoulder, knocking him to the floor. He looked up angrily, wincing in pain as he saw... a dart, sticking out of his upper arm. "What the fuck?" Automatically, he noted the room beginning to spin and his breathing quicken. "Wh-what the hell is this?!" He could not fight it as his knees gave out and he crumpled completely onto the carpet, the men snickering and Kazoumi smirking unpleasantly down at him.

"A little something I had my scientists cook up. No, it's not X-egg energy, but a simple drug to weaken your body. So tell me... will this slow you down? Son?" He sneered at the indigo-haired boy, who was now staring up at him as though with just his hateful eyes, could bring death upon him.

"I fucking hate you..." The teen seethed. "I FUCKING HATE YOU!"

Cold eyes soon met his as the man lowered himself to raise up Ikuto's chin with a strong, hard hand, squeezing with enough force to possibly break his jaw. Ikuto struggled against the blinding pain from the injection and his step father's grip. "I do hope that hatred will re-inforce that threat of yours. I would hate to have an empty promise. Though you won't be able to resist me for long, Ikuto. The darkness is slowly overtaking you, and you will be my puppet. You will cease to exist, become nothing but a mindless drone, a zombie, with no name or existence. Resigned to your fate as my stepping stone to Hinamori Amu." He released the boy, and waved a hand airily. "Get him out of here. Throw him on the street or something. Stray cats do not belong in a shelter of any kind." His smirk returned. "Only in the trash, where they belong."

Someone behind him seized his hair roughly, bringing him to his knees and turning him around. What came next was enough any other person would have passed out from, and in his weakened state, he was surprised when he didn't; a hard, sturdy knee came swiftly and menacingly, hard and painful, into his abdomen. His mouth opened as he gave a yelp of pain as the wind was knocked the hell out of him, and he tasted the blood as he coughed it up. It was dark and thick, and he knew something had been damaged internally, and if there wasn't, he was damned lucky. He was trembling at the feet of the men as more blood emerged from his mouth with the cough as he gasped greedily for air. More pain, then, as more of the men began dragging him away, onto the elevator, until they reached the landing that lead to the outside, and began kicking him repeatedly until he was pushed roughly out the door and onto the sidewalk, lying still as he firmly held the unbroken vaccine in his hand.

His vision blurred as he groaned and winced in some of the worst pain he'd ever felt in his life. He heard murmurs, and knew passerby had seen what had happened, and then - he couldn't quite believe it when he saw him - Tadase was standing over him, looking slightly appalled. "Tsukiyomi... Ikuto.." Ikuto resisted the urge to snap at the boy; The Kiddy King, that despised him so much, was now seeing him completely bloody, beat up and broken lying on the sidewalk in front of Easter. Before he could get a word out, like telling the Kiddy King to leave him alone, there were more voices.

"Tadase, where'd you go -- Oh... "

Ikuto's bleary eyes registered Kukai, who was looking just as appalled at Tadase. "Whoa... what the hell happened to him..?"

"I don't know," Tadase turned to the brunette, "I was walking by and a whole bunch of guys threw him out the door."

Kukai looked at the building. "But.. this is Easter! What, did they fire you or something?" He directed the question at Ikuto.

"It doesn't... matter.." Ikuto found his voice to be raspy, weak; Great, another thing for the Kiddy King and his servants to see? "I... I need... to... get to Amu... she's.. in trouble.."

"Hinamori-san?!" Tadadse asked sharply, and glared down at the beaten up teenager. "What are you talking about, you thieving cat?!" As Ikuto took in another few breaths, the blonde snapped, "WELL?!"

Kuaki placed a hand on Tadase's shoulder. "Chill, Tadase. The guy's obviously trying to just get a few breaths in, do you see the condition he's in?"

"I don't care about that right now, he said Hinamori-san's in trouble --"

"She.."

Both boys looked back at Ikuto as he tried to steady his breathing. "She was rushed to the hospital. I can't.. tell you the full story yet, but I need a lift there. She.. she needs this vaccine." He held it out in his palm, and Tadase's eyes widened.

"Vaccine...?" Then his eyes narrowed. "Why should we believe you? Or help you get to Amu? You just want an opportunity to snatch the Humpty Lock!"

"Uh," Kuaki looked from Tadase to Ikuto. "Sorry, King, but I don't think he can really steal anything in that state..."

Tadase turned around to face the other boy. "You don't know him! He's... he's playing the role of the beaten up black cat, but he's just waiting to lure us into his tra --"

"Idiot," Ikuto said angrily. "You... truly are an idiot. If.. you refuse to believe me... I'll just have to... get there myself..." He got painfully - too painfully - to his feet, staggering and swaying. "Before... she..." He nearly fell back over before Kukai caught him around the waist, and Ikuto winced in intense pain as the wound to his abdomen become more apparent.

"Dude, you can't walk like this!"

"No... I need... to get to Amu.. you don't know.... she's only has... minutes.."

Kukai blinked, eyes widening in shock. "You mean Hinamori's about to be killed?!"

"Don't listen to that thieving cat!" Tadase shouted at Kukai sourly. "He's tricking us like the prankster he is --!"

Already at the brink of his anger, Ikuto snapped at the younger boy, "Fine, don't listen to me! I don't care whether you believe me or not! I thought, as Amu's supposed close friends, you might care to help her, but apparently someone can't get over a past grudge to allow me to help you get to her! I am not going to let her die! If I don't get to her in twenty minutes - maybe even less - she'll be dead! She needs this vaccine, and I'm not going to sit here arguing with a little boy who thinks he's a king while Amu's in such danger!" He made an angry turn to leave, shoving Kukai off of him.

"Oi!" Kukai called after him as he limped quickly down the sidewalk, falling, and getting to his feet again. He'd managed to get down to the corner, when, much to Ikuto's annoyance, the blonde and brunette caught up to him fairly easily. "What are you talking about? What's this vaccine for? Who's hurting her?"

"Easter," He said roughly. "Look, I can't go into detail, but know that she's in extreme danger, and if I don't get to her, she'll be dead!" He waved down a taxi that stopped directly in front of him, and as his body and mind became more stressed, fell to his knees. The driver got out hurriedly and went to his side.

"Are you okay?" He asked worriedly.

Ikuto stiffly nodded. Kukai scoffed. "You're obviously not, man! I'm going with you. Hinamori may or may not be there, but I still want you checked out, you probably got all kinds of internal damage."

"But Soma-kun..." came Tadase's protest. As the taxi driver helped Ikuto into the back, Kukai faced Tadase.

"I don't know what happened between the two of you, but right now, he's not our enemy. We just saw Easter kick him out the door, beaten up, claiming to have a vaccine to save Hinamori. He wouldn't go to all that trouble for no reason, Tadase. Now, you can let your grudge get in the way of saving Hinamori or you can let it go if only for one day and trust Tsukiyomi."

Ikuto did not look at either of the two boys as Tadase reluctantly agreed to go with. Kukai climbed in first, followed by the blonde-haired boy. Once all three were in and their seat belts fastened, Ikuto practically ordered the bewildered driver to hurry to the hospital as fast as he could and not to worry about the speeding ticket he would be likely to receive. He held the vaccine tightly, but not with enough strength to break it, in his slender fingers. Kukai was staring at him. "Since we're on our way there, will you tell us what happened?"

Ikuto sighed. "We'll be there in about ten minutes, just barely making it, depending on how fast this guy can go, but I'll tell you what I can without drawing it out for too long." He averted his gave to the window beside him, which was blurred with the outside from the speed of the taxi. "I went in to work one day when my step father revealed he had captured Amu. I tried to get her out of there, but they were on to me and locked me up. I managed to get a hold of Utau on Amu's cell phone and she came and busted me out. We had to leave right away in case Easter caught us and prevented us from getting to Amu, but after planting me with x-egg energy, I still knew I had to go back and get her and --"

"Wait, hold up," Kukai caught him off. "X-egg energy? What the hell...?"

"It's a part of a plan of theirs, I don't know all what they're planning," Ikuto said hurriedly. "But yeah, they got me with it, and when I went back to get Amu, he... he got her with it too...."

"WHAT?!"

Ikuto glared at Tadase as he was interrupted, and the boy blushed slightly in embarrassment and jerked his head, motioning for Ikuto to continue. "My step father has a vaccine for it, that he gave me when he... tortured Amu... I managed to get in and steal it to take it to her, but they had caught me and knew it would slow me down if they beat the hell out of me first..."

"What'd they do to her..?" Kukai was shocked.

Ikuto's right hand formed into a fist. "He... my step father... he violated her. Sexually."

The two younger boys paled, and Tadase looked as if he was going to throw up. He quickly opened the window and breathed in gulps of fresh air and stayed there for a minute or two before turning back around, and even then, his face had a green tinge to it. "You mean he... raped... Hinamori-san...?"

He didn't want to answer it, so he just gave a stiff nod. "They held me down as they did it. I couldn't do anything and when I tried, they only knocked me down further. Every time I tried to get up, they were there, preventing me from getting to her, from helping her... I was on my last breath." He didn't know why he was justifying himself, explaining himself to them; perhaps it was to ease some of the intense guilt he felt on himself.

"You.."

Ikuto hesitantly looked over at Tadase and was surprised when he saw a look of supreme rage on the boy's thin face. "You... let them hurt her..."

He said nothing. Though 'let them' was blowing it a bit out of proportion.

"Tadase, they had him bound..." Kukai attempted to explain on Ikuto's behalf, but Tadase would hear none of it.

"You mean you WATCHED them hurt her...?! And did nothing?! A little pain stopped you from getting to the girl you claim to care so much about?!" His eyes sparked with hatred. "If it had been me... with every breath, even to the last, I would have gotten to her! No matter how much pain I was in! And you... you stood by as they tortured her..." Ikuto knew if they weren't in a car at the present, Tadase would have surely punched him by now. "You make me sick, Tsukiyomi Ikuto! I was considering letting my grudge over you go, but... now.. I will never forgive you for letting Easter hurt Hinamori-san like that!"

Ikuto looked away to stare back out the window. He hated to admit it, but Tadase was right. Even if it killed him, he should have gotten to Amu. Should have died to protect her. But he had... hadn't he...? Hadn't he been on the brink of death, holding his very last breaths, when the Director had plunged the lifeline to save him into his shoulder? And he'd gotten to Amu... albeit late, but he'd gotten to her. He'd not left her there to suffer anymore, and she held no grudge towards him, if anything, she was thankful. But that was Amu.

"And I... I will never forgive myself," He whispered, just loud enough for the two boys to hear, as he held the vaccine, the only salvation for Amu, in his upturned palm.

____________________________________________


	7. Darkness

**Author's Note: **

Hime Cullen Tsukiyomi - Can I slap him with you? =D Lol, yes. Tadase will come 'round in this chap, but Kukai is definitely awesome and has more common sense. I mean, wtf, Ikuto's lying just because he's from Easter? Give me a break, lol.

KyoxSakiFan - I used to despise Tadase, but in the manga, I really like him now. (And in the anime now too) Lol, he was a little twit in the last chap, but luckily he comes around. ^^ And thank you!

Crystal Penn - Lol, yesh, he is. xD Kukai was epic. LOL, that's true. Evil Step Dad's all bandaged up but unfortunately the asshole's... mostly okay. . He didn't quite have the strength to beat the shit out of Ikuto himself so he had his little cronies do it. Ha ha ha, yeah, that guy is so fugly. xD Even a facial wouldn't make him look any better. Hehe, yes. Well, more fluff in this chap. =D

Suuz112 - Thanks so much, glad to see I didn't make him OOC. ^^ Rofl, that would've been hilarious. I'll do that next chap. =D (We need some humor after all.)

**Author's Note #2: **

Thanks so much for the continued support on this fic! *Glomps everyone* Now here's where the darkness begins. ;D Slightly shorter chapter than the last, but this is the build-up to the good stuff.

_________________________

**"Chapter 7: Darkness." **

They reached the hospital Amu was located at with five minutes to spare. Ikuto handed the taxi driver more money than the ride had cost, stunning him, but Ikuto had told him to keep the change. Exiting the cab with the other two, Ikuto did not hesitate to begin running, despite Kukai and his mind telling him not to worsen his condition, but he couldn't care about himself right now. All that mattered was getting to Amu. He was out of breath once he reached the desk and the shocked woman sitting at it. "I... need to see.. Hinamori Amu," He told her in between breaths. "What room is she in?"

"You mean the girl who was brought in twenty minutes ago?" She asked, a little breathless. "That girl's in near critical condition, I'm sorry I can't allow anyone to..."

"I need to see her now!" He barked. "Your technology won't save her! I alone have the only thing to save her! Now let me in!"

"I'm sorry, but I can't allow you in there in your condition," She told him, looking sympathetic. "You must have hit your head or something, causing a concussion..."

"No," Ikuto said roughly. "I will not let her die. Tell me what room she's in so I can go to her!"

"Our doctors will do their best to save her, I'm sorry, but..."

"He's telling the truth," Kukai came up to Ikuto's side, a determined look on his face. "He's got the only thing to save her, your doctors can't do it. He's got a vaccine, for something none of you know about."

Before the girl could respond, there was a shout of, "Ikuto!"; The two boys turned to see Nikaidou, Yukari and Utau running towards them. "Ikuto, did you get the vaccine?" Yukari asked him, her face frantic. "She's already so cold... we're losing her quickly.."

"So... it's true...?"

Everyone looked over at Tadase, who had paled dramatically. "The... thieving cat was right...?"

Utau glared at him. "Of course he was."

Tadase looked as if he were fighting with some internal struggle; he looked up, then down, then at Ikuto, and blushed slightly as he whispered a quiet, "Sorry." Ikuto heard him, and just nodded to show he had forgiven him for not believing him. He turned his attention back to Yukari and the others.

"Yeah, I got it. What room is she in?"

"Just down the hall, come on --"

"Wait a moment!" The desk clerk stopped them. "I don't know what's going on here, but you all seem to know each other..." She looked at Ikuto. "I apologize for treating you so suspiciously, it's just a precaution we all have to take. I'll take your word for it that you have what she needs, but I'm going to have to need to check out this vaccine."

"I can't do that," Ikuto said quickly. "This vaccine is something that doesn't work for regular poisons or illnesses. It's nothing common, and it was created specifically to treat her for what she got injected with. Please, we only have less than three minutes to save her life. We don't have time for this.."

The woman sighed. "Okay. I understand. Go on in, though this might cost me my job..."

Utau turned to her. "We won't let that happen. Thank you for helping us."

"Ikuto," Yukari called, "Let's go."

He nodded, closing the vaccine in his fist. "I'm coming, Amu..." He took off after Yukari through the double-doors and when he reached Amu's room, pushed the door open and nearly stopped in his tracks. Amu was still convulsing; her body shook, her eyes were nearly up in her head, and blank, not registering anything, and she was pale as death. The machine that was keeping her alive beeped crazily, but he could see that she was beginning to flat-line. "No," He whispered, and without a second thought, raced forward and plunged the needled straight into the spot she'd received it last time, despite the doctors that had barged into the room upon hearing the monitor.

His heart pounded crazily, in terror, as Amu stilled, the screen a complete flat-line. "No, Amu.." His voice broke. "This had to work... it had to work..." But then he remembered his step father telling him about the vaccine, and how he had specifically given Amu a double dose so this one might not work. "Oh, God, no..." He entwined his hand with her ice-cold one, and buried his face on her unmoving chest.

"Get... off me.. pervert.."

He snapped his head up at the sound of her voice, hardly daring to believe she was really speaking. Her eyes, still empty but no longer up in her head, held recognition and no sign of anger. "Amu... you're..."

"The pain... is gone," Amu whispered. "You... you saved me, Ikuto...so... don't cry.."

He touched his face, feeling the wetness. He hadn't even realized he'd been crying. "Um, excuse me...?"

He looked behind him to see about five doctors standing there with shocked looks. "What... how did you...? That girl, she was dead..."

"We explained it to the desk clerk," Yukari spoke up. "The vaccine he had was made specifically for what she had. No doctor, no matter how good they were, could have saved her, and you would have found no plausible reaon for her death." The doctor who had spoken looked absolutely dumbfounded before he smiled.

"Whatever it was, it saved her. I applaud you for being able to do something so extraordinary.."

"Thank you," Ikuto muttered.

"Ikuto..?" He looked back at Amu, who was looking upset. "You're... you're really hurt.."

He smiled gently at her. "Nah, I'm fine. A little pain wouldn't keep me from you." But there was a searing pain in his abdomen and he gripped it as he groaned nearly against his will.

"You're not okay," Amu's voice was raspy from the effort of speaking. "Please... get checked out now that I'm.. okay."

He couldn't bring himself to object... not to her. "Okay. For you, I will."

Amu looked at him disapprovingly. "You know, you gotta take better care of yourself, you pervert."

He chuckled, though it hurt to do so. "All right, all right." He got up, stumbling, but Yukari caught his arm.

"What the hell did they do to you?" She steadied him over to a chair. "I thought you looked bad before, but jeez.. I'm glad you're getting checked out!"

"I'll take a look at him," One of the doctors offered. "We might need to take him to a different room, though."

Ikuto looked up. "I want to stay with Amu."

The doctor sighed. "All right, but you're going to have to take off your shirt to let me check the wound. Are you all right with that?" He was looking from Ikuto to Amu, and when Ikuto looked at the girl, she blushed hotly and nodded.

"T-that's fine."

"No peeking," Ikuto teased her, and Amu turned even redder.

"Like I would, you pervert. I-I'll look away!"

He shook his head, smiling so she wouldn't see him and nodded to the doctor. "It's fine."

"All right. Let me see where you're hurt."

Yukari walked out of the room pointedly as Ikuto, with difficulty, lifted his shirt off and the man began to tenderly press his fingers along the wound. Ikuto winced. "Looks like whoever assaulted you did it with malicious intent," The doctor answered. "Seems to be a cracked rib, but we'll have to do some x-rays to be sure as well as some to check for any possible internal damage. It seems likely, too, with the way you're bruising and swelling..." He stood up, finishing his examination. "Is there anywhere else you're hurt? If not, I'll and call for the x-rays now."

"No, it's just there I was really hurting." Ikuto answered. "Thanks, doc."

The doctor smiled slightly and nodded as he headed out the door. "No problem."

Once he was gone, Ikuto attempted to put his shirt back on, but found he was having more trouble than he did taking it off. "Tch."

"I-Ikuto...? Is it okay... if I help you?"

He turned his head to the girl, whose face resembled a tomato now. "Perverted kid," He scolded, but he turned and walked over to her anyway, knowing he needed extra help. Amu's eyes could not prevent themselves from gawking at him muscular chest, and as he got closer so that he was directly in front of her bed, her fingers fumbled as she lifted her arms and pulled the shirt over Ikuto's head, gently and tenderly, and when the cloth brushed against his sore abdomen he winced slightly. "S-Sorry." She apologized, tugging the rest of his shirt down and accidentally, her fingers brushed against his just nearly covered flesh.

She pulled her hands away immediately, the blush going up to her ears. Ikuto chuckled. "You really are a perverted kid."

"S-shut up," Amu told him, looking away folding her arms. "It's your fault for getting hurt so bad where you can't even put on your s-shirt.."

He smirked, "But you like it, don't you?"

"No!" Amu protested, but her beet red face told him otherwise. "You're so stupid, getting yourself hurt all the t-time."

"Maybe," Ikuto agreed lightly. "But I'd give my last breath just for you."

Her annoyed expression softened. "Ikuto... don't ever do anything so reckless again.."

He looked to the floor. "I did what I had. To save you. Your life is more important."

"I really do appreciate it, Ikuto," Amu said softly. "Thank you. Thank you so much.... I would.. be dead if you hadn't gotten that vaccine."

"I guess you can consider it a make-up for all the trouble I caused by getting you involved with me in the first place," Ikuto answered her. "If I couldn't save you, then.."

"Don't talk like that," Amu said angrily. "You told me to keep my distance. But I never did. I always came back to you. Don't you remember? You've pushed me away so long, but our paths always crossed and we overcame everything. I didn't realize it, but... love... always lead you back to me..." She went red again. "Fate... lead us to each other... the lock and key.. there's a reason we have it, and I don't think it's simply coincidence."

His gaze softened on the young girl. "That's true. I wonder... if the lock and key are a perfect, matching pair, and belong with one another, no other key can fit the lock and no other lock can go with the key... is it true for us? The holders? Are we....?"

"Soul mates.." Amu blushed even redder at the realization. "That explains it.."

"Easter must have realized this.." Ikuto spoke softly. "They must have known that the Humpty Lock and Dumpty Key were a perfect match, and since they found out about our... non-enemy like relationship, they decided to use it to their advantage.."

"You're right," Amu gasped. "When they were holding me captive... He said something about wanting the Humpty Lock and Dumpty Key's power. He said they were special, and in turn, we had power no other two did because the lock and key are like... our soul's... the power to transform come from the lock and key, and he wants that extra power..."

"He won't get it," Ikuto said roughly. "No matter what he's planning, by doing whatever it is with the x-egg energ --" He stopped mid-sentence, realization overcoming his wide eyes. "That's it..."

"What?" Amu asked in alarm.

"He... he knew I would get to you..."

"What are you talking about, Ikuto? Didn't you say that he hurt you to purposely try and keep you from getting to me on time?"

"No, he knew I would get here," Ikuto whispered. "He just didn't know under what circumstances... but he knew I would make it. He never intended to let either of us die. He's got something else planned for us, he needs us alive."

"But the risk of us dying was so high..."

"He knows me well," Ikuto growled. "He knew I'd never rest until you were safe and out of harms way. So he got me first, to make me watch as you quickly began dying. He realized I'd come back to try and save you and what I thought was trying to stop me, was actually a way to cause me more pain before I got to you. The risk was so high, but he was confident I would get to you. Amu, I just played right into his hands..."

"You don't regret it... do you?" She sounded as if she was going to cry. Ikuto looked at her with a pained expression and hurriedly grabbed her into a tight hug, though his ribs were killing him.

"Of course not. I could never regret saving your life. Never. I regret not realizing this before, having to play into his hands to... depend on his services.. on him.. to save you. He feels he's got supreme control over me for me to go to him to continue your - and my own - life."

Amu gently hugged him back. "This was something neither of us prepared for, that's all. He hasn't won yet, Ikuto. If there's more he's going to do, we still got a chance, and we will not lose."

He smiled. "You're right, Amu. We'll overcome anything he throws at us."

The door opened then, and they broke apart as the doctor looked up from his clipboard. "Okay, we're got your x-ray tests ready to go. Hers just came back, and as expected, it seems she has a cracked rib, but no other serious damage. When she was convulsing, I was worried that she would most likely have some slight brain damage, especially from that high fever, but she got out pretty much unscathed on that end. However..." He looked at Amu seriously. "The woman doctor that examined you... for the other thing, she saw some small tearing from a... sexual penetration.."

Ikuto placed his hand on Amu's shoulder gently as the girl shook slightly. "Will she be all right..?"

"Physically, most likely, but mentally is going to have to depend on her," He answered sympathetically. "She might need counseling, but as long as you and those friends I saw in the lobby continue to be there for her, there's a chance she'll recover very nicely." He smiled at the pink-haired girl. "Your friends are worried sick about you."

"My... friends?" Amu looked up at Ikuto. "Ikuto, the Guardians...?"

"The Kiddy King and that... soccer guy, I think, were with me when I came here, but I didn't see the others," He said blankly. The doctor laughed.

"There's more in there now, and one of them, a little curly-haired girl is yelling at our desk clerk to see you. Got quite a voice, that one."

"Rima," Amu smiled in recognition. "I can't wait to see them."

"I'll bandage you up so your ribs can heal and give you an anti-biotic and such to prevent pain. I recommend taking pain killers ever 6-8 hours when you're in pain and to prevent it, and just to take it easy for awhile. Cracked ribs take awhile to heal, and I don't want you doing anything excessive like lifting things or running or anything that might injure you further. Now, you," He looked at Ikuto crossly. "Are most likely internally injured, and under no circumstances are you to do any of the things I prevented her from doing as well."

"Fine," Ikuto answered dryly, and Amu smiled at him.

"I'll take you to take your x-rays now and as soon as the results are back, if it's not too serious, you can go home, though even now I advise to keep you admitted."

"Hell no," The boy answered immediately. "I'll take the x-rays and follow your advice, but there's no way in hell I'm staying overnight."

The doctor sighed. "If it's too serious, no matter if you protest or not, I'm keeping you. So let's get you checked."

Ikuto glared at the man, but didn't say anything as he got up stiffly and turned to Amu to kiss the top of her head fondly before exiting the room. "See you in a minute." He called to her. Amu waved slightly, trying not to laugh. He could be so stubborn, and she was sure he was glaring at the doctor's back as he went to take his x-rays.

_Too bad I couldn't have caused his injuries. I would have made sure to permanently injure him. _

Her eyes widened as she realized what she was thinking. How... how could she wish she was hurting him...? She shook her head, trying to clear it. It didn't seem like her at all, to wish hurting someone, someone she desperately loved. "What... what am I thinking...?"

_I could have broken every bone in his body so easily. How I would love to hear him beg me for mercy, for leaving me there... _

She blanched, covering her mouth as the mental image of her hurting Ikuto overpowered her mind. She took deep breaths, steadying her uneasy stomach. "Why.. why am I thinking such things..? What's... what's going on with me...? Ikuto tried to come as quickly as he could..."

_But not quickly enough. _

"No," She felt like an idiot for arguing with... well, basically, herself, but she didn't care. "He rescued me twice. He saved me from death. He nearly got himself killed for me.."

_He will be dead when I punish him for not getting to me sooner..._

Tears poured from her eyes. She didn't like what she was thinking, these dark, unbidden thoughts. Thoughts she didn't understand why she was thinking. Perhaps it was from all the horror she'd suffered, her mind was in a jumble, taking too much in one day; She honestly felt no anger or hatred for Ikuto, even in her conscious, so why..?

_You hate him for not getting to you sooner, letting you suffer by that man. He's the reason you're experiencing such mental and physical anguish... he's the reason you nearly died... he is an unlucky black cat who brings only misfortune upon anyone he comes in contact with... _

"He isn't," She shook her head again. "Ikuto isn't a bad person.. he's a very good person who tries to save even those who are called his enemies.. he saved me. Many times before this..."

_He's using you._

"If that were true, he would have just taken the Lock already," She contradicted. "His eyes don't lie..."

_Perhaps your own do. To see what you want to see. You want him to love you. _

"Stop..." She buried her face on her raised knees. "Just stop.."

_He can't love you. He teases, he plays around. This is just another tease, a trap. He's trying to get close to you so he can get the Lock and that's all there is to it. He's a slithering little slime who will laugh once he's broken you. Just the way his father did. _

"He wouldn't do that," Amu replied automatically. "Ikuto is not that kind of person."

_What do you really know about him? _

Amu bit her lip. What did she know about Ikuto? Practically nothing.

_See? You know I'm right. You don't know who he really is, what he really thinks. Whose side he's really on... _

"No... he's... he's my f-friend..."

_He's Easter's pawn, and he will play that role until the final checkmate. Even to you._

"_Just stop it_!" Amu snapped, raising her hands to her ears. The voice - wherever it was coming from, whatever it was - was wrong! Completely wrong!

_You can't escape me. I am your darkness, and you will submit to me. _If evil had a voice, this would definitely be it. _Fate... has ensured it. _

She could feel the aura all around her, the darkness; but she would not submit. Not to it, not to Easter, not to Kazoumi, not to anything. They would not win.

___________________________________________________


End file.
